Abstract
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the main cause of liver disease worldwide. NAFLD is linked to circumstances such as type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. Since the obesity figures and related comorbidities are increasing, NAFLD has turned into a liver problem that has become progressively more common. Currently, there is no effective drug therapy for NAFLD; therefore, interventions in lifestyles remain the first line of treatment. Bearing in mind that adherence rates to this type of treatment are poor, great efforts are currently focused on finding novel therapeutic agents for the prevention in the development of hepatic steatosis and its progression to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. This review presents a compilation of the scientific evidence found in the last years showing the results of interventions in lifestyle, diet, and behavioral therapies and research results in human, animal and cell models. Possible therapeutic agents ranging from supplementation with vitamins, amino acids, prebiotics, probiotics, symbiotics, polyunsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols to interventions with medicinal plants are analyzed.
Highlights
The burden of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has a clinical significance in the health system and is a public health problem affecting about a third of the Western population [1].NAFLD afflicts 30% of the adult population [2] and the majority of obese individuals [3], making obesity the main promoter disease condition
A protein diet is associated with improved lipid profile, glucose homeostasis, and improved liver enzymes in NAFLD, independently of decreases in body mass index (BMI) or in body fat mass
Because weight loss has been reported to have a low rate of success in the long term [45], research has focused on the development and validation of new dietary therapies aimed at preventing the hepatic steatosis and its progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) [46]
Summary
The burden of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has a clinical significance in the health system and is a public health problem affecting about a third of the Western population [1]. Liver steatosis is mainly a consequence of excess caloric intake and lack of physical activity, which points to the correction of unhealthy lifestyles as first step to follow in the prevention and handling of NAFLD. When such intervention is inefficient or inadequate, drug therapy becomes the second strategy; the efficacy and safety of the proposed drug treatments for treating NAFLD are still unclear [6]
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