Lifestyle interventions remain the cornerstone therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This randomised controlled single-blind clinical trial investigated the effect of Mediterranean diet (MD) or Mediterranean lifestyle, along with weight loss, in NAFLD patients. In all, sixty-three overweight/obese patients (50 (sd11) years, BMI=31·8 (sd4·5) kg/m², 68 % men) with ultrasonography-proven NAFLD (and elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and/or γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels) were randomised to the following groups: (A) control group (CG), (B) Mediterranean diet group (MDG) or (C) Mediterranean lifestyle group (MLG). Participants of MDG and MLG attended seven 60-min group sessions for 6 months, aiming at weight loss and increasing adherence to MD. In the MLG, additional guidance for increasing physical activity and improving sleep habits were given. Patients in CG received only written information for a healthy lifestyle. At the end of 6 months, 88·8 % of participants completed the study. On the basis of intention-to-treat analysis, both MDG and MLG showed greater weight reduction and higher adherence to MD compared with the CG (allP<0·05) at the end of intervention. In addition, MLG increased vigorous exercise compared with the other two study groups (P<0·001) and mid-day rest/naps compared with CG (P=0·04). MLG showed significant improvements in ALT levels (i.e. ALT<40 U/l (P=0·03) and 50 % reduction of ALT levels (P=0·009)) and liver stiffness (P=0·004) compared with CG after adjusting for % weight loss and baseline values. MDG improved only liver stiffness compared with CG (P<0·001) after adjusting for the aforementioned variables. Small changes towards the Mediterranean lifestyle, along with weight loss, can be a treatment option for patients with NAFLD.

Hepatic granulomas have been reported in 2–15% of unselected liver biopsies, with a wide clinical profile responsible for their presence. To date, no series concerning the prevalence and the etiology of granulomas from Greece has been reported. To evaluate the prevalence and the etiology of hepatic granulomas and to investigate whether there has been an alteration in distribution of diagnoses in our series compared with those published so far in the literature. The results of liver biopsy specimens performed in a Department of Medicine, between 1999 and 2004, were retrospectively reviewed and the cases revealing hepatic granulomas had their medical notes and the liver biopsies recorded. Over the study period, 1768 liver biopsies were performed. Hepatic granulomas were identified in 66 (3.7%). Of those, 51 were female with a mean age of 57 years (range 34–74 years) and 15 were male with a mean age of 42 years (range 18–78 years). Autoimmune liver diseases including primary biliary cirrhosis, overlap syndrome and autoimmune hepatitis accounted for the majority of cases (68%), followed by sarcoidosis (7.5%), chronic hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infection (7.5%), idiopathic (6%), drugs (3%) and other miscellaneous causes (7.5%). Our series showed that autoimmune liver diseases, mainly primary biliary cirrhosis was the most common cause of granuloma formation, a finding rather similar to that stated in the studies from Western countries. A rather small number of idiopathic cases were recorded. Chronic viral hepatitis and sarcoidosis rates were equal, a finding possibly reflecting a fairly high proportion of viral hepatitis in our sample.