Obese and type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients have a high prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is a continuum of chronic liver diseases ranging from benign hepatosteatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular cancer (HCC). Because of its strong association with the obesity epidemic, NAFLD is rapidly becoming a major public health concern worldwide. Surprisingly, there are no FDA approved NAFLD therapies; and current therapies focus on the co-morbidities associated with NAFLD, namely, obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The goal of this review is to provide background on the disease process, discuss human studies and preclinical models that have examined treatment options. We also provide an in-depth rationale for the use of dietary ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (ω3 PUFA) supplements as a treatment option for NAFLD. This focus is based on recent studies indicating that NASH patients and preclinical mouse models of NASH have low levels of hepatic C_20–22 ω3 PUFA. This decline in hepatic PUFA may account for the major phenotypic features associated with NASH, including steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis. Finally, our discussion will address the strengths and limitations of ω3 PUFA supplements use in NAFLD therapy.

肥胖和2型糖尿病（T2DM）患者的非酒精性脂肪肝病（NAFLD）患病率很高。NAFLD是从良性肝脂肪变性到非酒精性脂肪性肝炎（NASH），肝硬化和原发性肝细胞癌（HCC）的一系列慢性肝病）。由于其与肥胖病的流行密切相关，因此，NAFLD迅速成为全球主要的公共卫生问题。令人惊讶的是，目前还没有FDA批准的NAFLD疗法；当前的治疗方法集中于与NAFLD相关的合并症，即肥胖，高血糖，血脂异常和高血压。这篇综述的目的是提供有关疾病过程的背景，讨论已经研究了治疗方案的人体研究和临床前模型。我们还提供了使用膳食ω3多不饱和脂肪酸（ω3PUFA）补充剂作为NAFLD治疗选择的深入理由。该重点基于最近的研究，这些研究表明NASH患者和NASH的临床前小鼠模型的肝C _20-22水平较低ω3PUFA。肝PUFA的下降可能是与NASH相关的主要表型特征，包括脂肪变性，炎症和纤维化。最后，我们的讨论将解决在NAFLD治疗中使用ω3PUFA补充剂的优点和局限性。