Comparing Effects of Medication Therapy and Exercise Training with Diet on Liver enzyme Levels and Liver Sonography in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

Background & Objectives: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, characterized by the deposition of fat in liver cells, can cause fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cell damage if not controlled. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of medication therapy and exercise training with diet on liver enzyme levels and liver sonography in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Materials & Methods :In this quasi-experimental study, female patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver were randomly divided into two groups: medication therapy (n = 10) and exercise therapy (n = 10) for 8 weeks. During this period, the exercise group performed exercise training three days a week for 90 minutes per session. The drug was given to the medication group. In both groups, the diet was 500 calories less than their daily energy. Before and after intervention, blood tests and liver sonography were executed. All statistical analyses were done using SPSS for Windows version 20. Comparisons between and within groups were performed by Student's t-test and Wilcoxon test on paired and unpaired data. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results :In both groups, liver enzyme levels and disease severity in sonography reduced significantly (p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings of the present research showed that both methods of therapy have the same effect on reducing the severity of NAFLD.