Follow-up study on patients with non-alcoholic and non-diabetic fatty liver.

From a group of 424 patients with histologically verified fatty liver 92 patients without diabetes mellitus and alcohol abuse were subjected to follow-up examination for 3 1/2 years. 56 patients underwent second liver biopsy at this time; 20 of these patients had shown marked fatty liver at the initial liver biopsy examination. These 20 patients with marked fatty liver and 25 further patients with moderarte fatty liver could be followed up 5 and 7 1/2 years later; the clinical examination, the various liver function tests, liver scan and blind liver biopsy did not show any evidence of progression of fatty liver towards chronic inflammatory liver disorders or precirrhotic states. This clinical study therefore suggests the harmlessness of non-alcoholic fatty liver.