Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and insulin resistance in children

Table 4 Efficacy of main drugs against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis/nonalcoholic fatty liver disease symptoms

	Drug	Efficacy
Insulin-sensitizing agent	1Metformin[47]	Controversial (effective but no more effective than improvement of lifestyle)
Antioxidants	1Vitamin E[47]	Significant improvements in NASH and NAFLD activity scores
	Vitamin C	No changes in ALT levels or liver inflammation; fibrosis was controlled intentionally
Liver-supporting drugs	Ursodeoxycholic acid	No improvements in serum transaminase and fat levels evaluated by US
	Phosphatidylcholine	No improvement in serum ALT level; improvements in liver echo intensity and insulin resistance
	1Taurine[48]	Decreased serum ALT levels and increased liver CT values in 7 children
Cholesterol-lowering agents	HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (atorvastatin)	Decrease in serum ALT levels and improvement in liver pathology
	Probucol	Decrease in serum ALT levels

¹Indicate drugs reported for children. US: Ultrasound; NASH: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; NAFLD: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; CT: Computed tomography; HMG-CoA: 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase.