СOMPARATIVE STUDY OF PROGEPAR EFFICACY IN PATIENTS WITH NON-ALCOHOLIC STEATOHEPATITIS
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the most common pathologies of the liver in developed countries. On the average, its prevalence reaches 20 %. In some patients, non-alco- holic fatty liver disease occurs with inflammation, vacuolization of hepatocytes and subsequent development of fibrosis and cirrhosis. This type of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is called non-alco- holic steatohepatitis. Patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis are at higher risk of complications, for example, hepatocellular carcinoma or varicose veins of the esophagus. Specific therapy for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis has not been yet developed. The main recommendations for patients are lifestyle changes that have some effectiveness in reducing steatosis and inflammation activity. However, rapid progressive course of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is not always possible to be controlled only by low calorie diet and increased physical activity. For the treatment of patients with non- alcoholic steatohepatitis, we can also use a non-specific therapy that can slow disease progression and reduce inflammation. Since the main mechanism of pathogenesis in non-alcoholic steatohepa-titis is oxidative stress, researchers are actively investigating the ef- fect of different antioxidants and their combinations. Today there is a large number of studies of these drugs. There are significant limitations of a large part of these studies: the lack of thorough monitoring of compliance and duration of lifestyle modification. Indeed, in this situation particular interest must be provided for those patients with a high activity of non-alcoholic steatohepati- tis that persists despite strict adherence to the recommendations in lifestyle changes. Additional research required to assess the effec- tiveness of pharmacological therapy in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis with long-term lifestyle changes. In this article, we will present a description and results of single-centre controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of Prohepar in patients with non- alcoholic steatohepatitis with persistent inflammatory activity on the background of adequate modification of lifestyle.