Trial reportPloS one2016
Docosahexanoic Acid Plus Vitamin D Treatment Improves Features of NAFLD in Children with Serum Vitamin D Deficiency: Results from a Single Centre Trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of weight loss interventions on liver-related health in children and adolescents with obesity: a systematic review and meta-analyses.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of pharmacotherapies on pediatric patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate plant-based omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patient biomarkers and parameters.Nutrition reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Systematic review of exercise for the treatment of pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Nutritional supplementation for nonalcohol-related fatty liver disease: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- The effects of fish oil plus vitamin DEuropean journal of nutrition · 2022Trial
- Vitamin D and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children: a randomized controlled clinical trial.European journal of pediatrics · 2022Trial
- Strategies to promote liver fibrosis amelioration with involvement of restorative macrophages.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Review
- Efficacy of non-pharmacological treatments in pediatric MASLD: a review of the literature.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Review
- Converging Pathways between Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) and Diabetes in Children.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- The combined pioglitazone and topiramate therapy for management of pediatric patients with severe MASLD.Saudi journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Saudi Gastroenterology Association · 2024Article
- Oxidative Stress as a Target for Non-Pharmacological Intervention in MAFLD: Could There Be a Role for EVOO?Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Metabolic-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD): A New Term for a More Appropriate Therapy in Pediatrics?Pediatric reports · 2024Article
- Dietary and Nutritional Interventions in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Pediatrics.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Nutritional Approaches in Children with Overweight or Obesity and Hepatic Steatosis.Nutrients · 2023Review
- The Role of Vitamin D in Obese Children with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Associated Metabolic Syndrome.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Effects on Cardiovascular Risk in Childhood: A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 8 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere are no licensed treatments for non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adults or children. In NAFLD, several studies have shown a benefit of omega-3 fatty acid treatment on lipid profile, insulin-sensitivity and hepatic steatosis and it has also been suggested that Vitamin D treatment has potential antifibrotic properties in liver disease. TRIAL
designTo date, however, there are no studies that have tested the combination of Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and vitamin D treatment which may benefit the whole spectrum of disease in NAFLD. Our aim therefore, was to test the effect of daily DHA (500 mg) plus vitamin D (800 IU) treatment, in obese children with biopsy-proven NAFLD and vitamin D deficiency, in a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
methodsThe 41/43 patients completed the study (18-treatment, 23-placebo). At 12 months: i) the main outcome was liver histology improvement, defined by NAS; ii) the secondary outcome was amelioration of metabolic parameters.
resultsDHA plus vitamin D treatment reduced the NAFLD Activity Score (NAS), in the treatment group (5.4 v1.92; p<0.001 for baseline versus end of study). There was no change in fibrosis score, but a reduction of the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) and fibrillar collagen content was noted (3.51±1.66 v. 1.59±1.37; p = 0.003) in treatment group. Moreover, the triglycerides (174.5 vs. 102.15 mg/dl), ALT (40.25 vs. 24.5 UI/l) and HOMA-IR (4.59 vs. 3.42) were all decreased with treatment.
conclusionDHA plus vitamin D treatment improved insulin-resistance, lipid profile, ALT and NAS. There was also decreased HSC activation and collagen content with treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.