News - National
Vitamin E shows promise for treating liver disease
Posted: Apr 28, 2010 3:12 PM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: Apr 28, 2010 3:12 PM
New research finds that people with an obesity-related liver disease got a surprising benefit from vitamin E pills.
It's believed to be the first time a vitamin supplement has been shown to help treat a major ailment not caused by a nutrient deficiency.
However, doctors say people should not take vitamin E without consulting their physicians. The latest study included about 250 people with a serious form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. There's no known treatment. Those who took vitamin E had a 43 percent improvement in their liver function compared to 19 percent in the group that got a dummy pill.
Results appear online Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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