A relatively new diabetes medicine offers no help in treating Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) — a sometimes-deadly condition associated with the metabolic disorder, a new study has found.

Because there are no specific, approved therapies for NAFLD, it is often treated with diabetes medications such as Januvia (sitagliptin). But the new study, by the University of California-San Diego School Of Medicine, found the drug was no more effective than an inactive placebo pill in combatting the disease.

NAFLD occurs when an accumulation of fat develops in the livers of people who drink little to no alcohol. It is the leading cause of chronic liver disease in the U.S., and much more common than one would think: Approximately one-fourth of all Americans have NAFLD.

It can evolve into a more serious form called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, which can lead to life-threatening cirrhosis, cancer, or liver failure.

For the new study, published in the Journal of Hepatology, a team of researchers form UCSD and the Mayo Clinic randomly assigned 50 NAFLD patients with pre-diabetes or early diabetes to receive either sitagliptin daily or a placebo for 24 weeks.

After the trial ended, the researchers found little difference between those taking the drug and those who received the placebo, with amount of liver fat remaining virtually the same in all of the patients.