[Are there therapeutic approaches of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its complications?]

As little as 10 years ago, there was scepticism as to weather non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a clinical condition. With the increasing prevalence of obesity, diabetes mellitus and the metabolic syndrome in the general population, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has become a household diagnosis in clinical practice of several medical specialities. Meanwhile, it is the primary cause for elevated liver enzymes of unknown cause in clinical practice. Treatment is focused on the improvement of insulin resistance and of antioxidative mechanisms, mainly by life-style modifications including weight loss and exercise. Drug therapy cannot be recommended at this time, because studies showing positive effects on morbidity and mortality are still lacking. In addition, issues concerning long term safety and side effects of drugs still have to be resolved.