Serum vitamin-E levels and its relation to clinical features in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with elevated ALT levels.
BACKGROUND
Oxidative stress and free oxygen radicals play an important role in the progression from simple fatty liver to steatohepatitis. Deficiency of antioxidants like vitamin-E has been reported to trigger this progression. The main aims of our study were to measure plasma vitamin-E levels in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), to explain its relationship with biochemical parameters and to examine the possible therapeutic and prophylactic role of vitamin-E.


METHODS
52 patients with NAFLD and elevated liver function tests were enrolled. After 6 months of follow-up with a standard low-fat, low-calorie diet, changes in liver enzymes were evaluated.


RESULTS
Deficiency of vitamin-E was detected in 16 patients with NAFLD. Homogenous echo pattern of the liver and attenuation was found to be significantly higher in the low vitamin-E group (p = 0.03). The low vitamin-E group had significantly higher levels of triglyceride (p = 0.02). After 6 months, patients in the low vitamin-E group did not respond to the diet and no decrease in ALT levels was detected (p = 0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study measuring the serum vitamin-E levels in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A correlation was found between low vitamin-E levels, high triglyceride levels, as well as sonographic findings, both of which are negative prognostic factors causing progression of fatty liver to steatohepatitis. Patients with low vitamin-E levels did not respond to a classical diet for fatty liver disease. Based on the data, we suggest that diet alone is not adequate for patients with fatty liver, and vitamin-E supplementation should be added.
Cankurtaran
M
M
Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine. cankurtaranmustafa@yahoo.com
Kav
T
T
Yavuz
B
B
Shorbagi
A
A
Halil
M
M
Coskun
T
T
Arslan
S
S