ABSTRACT
Non-alcoholic fatty liver [NAFLD] is defined as a spectrum of clinical scenarios which is pathological deposition of fat droplets in the liver of patients who have no history of alcohol use. This study compared the effect of low calorie diet with and without sibutramine on body weight and liver function in patients with NAFLD. This clinical trial study was conducted in 2010 at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, on 40 obese patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver. Patients were randomly divided into two equal groups of intervention and control groups. Group one received 15 mg daily sibutramine capsules half an hour before lunch and a weight loss diet based on ideal body weight. The other group only had diet control for weight reduction. Before and after 3 months of intervention, weight changes, fasting glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin HbA1c, levels of liver enzymes and ultrasound evaluation was repeated. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software and the paired T test, Mann-Whitney and McNemar test. The mean age of the subjects was 38.90 +/- 7.00 in the sibutramine group and 36.55 _7.87 for the control group. After three months, the average weight loss in sibutramine group was significantly more than the control group sibutramine group13 kg and control group 4 kg [p<0.05]. Improvement in liver echogenicity in sibutramine patients was 90% and 50% of diet group patients. ALT changes in the sibutramine group and control group was 7.50 +/- 15.11 and 6.15 +/- 28.23 respectively, which was statistically significant in the sibutramine group. AST changes were 4.38 +/- 13.37 and 1.70 +/- 18.37 in sibutramine and control group respectively. The changes were not statistically significant. Overall, findings of this study suggest that sibutramine is effective in liver function improvement and treatment of NAFLD patients