A type of fatty liver disease that commonly affects patients with HIV can be safely treated with vitamin E, researchers have found.
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a severe form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and is characterised by liver inflammation and cell damage.
It is a potentially dangerous condition that can progress to cirrhosis or liver cancer.
“Vitamin E has been shown to improve fatty liver in the general population, here we provide evidence for its beneficial effect and safety in people living with the HIV, who have a higher prevalence of fatty liver disease,” said study lead author Giada Sebastiani, Associate Professor in McGill University in Canada.
There are several theories to explain the high prevalence of fatty liver among the HIV-positive patients, they said. For the study, published in the journal AIDS, 27 patients with HIV and NASH were given vitamin E in an easily-tolerated dose of two pills per day.
“We found that vitamin E improved both liver transaminases (the main blood tests for liver function) and liver fat measured by a non-invasive ultrasonographic test,” Sebastiani said. (IANS)
