Related Experiment Videos
[Ursodeoxycholic hemisuccinate in the treatment of chronic active hepatitis. A controlled clinico-therapeutic study]
G Buzzelli1, S Moscarella, G Focardi
1Istituto di Clinica Medica II, Università degli Studi di Firenze.
Insights
Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) significantly reduced liver enzymes in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. This suggests UDCA-hemisuccinate is a promising treatment for improving liver health in these conditions.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Pharmacology
- Virology
Background:
- Chronic hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) are significant causes of liver disease.
- Current treatments aim to manage viral load and liver inflammation.
- Biochemical markers like ALT, AST, and y-GT indicate liver damage and inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of UDCA-hemisuccinate in treating chronic viral hepatitis.
- To compare UDCA-hemisuccinate with S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe) in managing liver enzyme levels.
- To assess the impact of UDCA-hemisuccinate on biochemical markers of liver injury.
Main Methods:
- A controlled study involving 36 patients with HBV/HCV-correlated chronic hepatitis.
- Patients were randomly assigned to receive either UDCA-hemisuccinate (300 mg twice daily) or SAMe (200 mg twice daily) for six months.
- Liver function tests, including ALT, AST, and y-GT, were monitored before and after treatment.
Main Results:
- UDCA-hemisuccinate treatment led to statistically significant reductions in ALT, AST, and y-GT levels.
- ALT decreased from 167 +/- 17 to 119 +/- 15 U/l (p < 0.0001).
- AST decreased from 122 +/- 14 to 86 +/- 11 U/l (p < 0.0001).
- y-GT decreased from 81 +/- 10 to 53 +/- 6 U/l (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
- UDCA-hemisuccinate demonstrates significant efficacy in improving biochemical parameters of liver injury in chronic viral hepatitis.
- The findings suggest UDCA-hemisuccinate is a potentially valuable therapeutic agent for long-term management of viral hepatitis.
- UDCA-hemisuccinate may help reduce hepatocellular necrosis and improve liver cell membrane integrity.
Abstract:
This controlled study was performed on 36 patients affected by HBV and/or HCV correlated chronic hepatitis (CAH). Eighteen of them received 300 mg of UDCA-hemisuccinate orally twice a day for six months; the other 18 received 200 mg of S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe) twice a day for six months. The two groups were determined randomly. Treatment with UDCA-hemi-succinate produced a statistically significant reduction in ALT (from 167 +/- 17 to 119 +/- 15 U/l; p < 0.0001), AST (from 122 +/- 14 to 86 +/- 11 U/l; p < 0.0001) and y-GT (from 81 +/- 10 to 53 +/- 6 U/l, p < 0.0001). The results obtained suggest that UDCA-hemi-succinate may be useful in the long-term treatment of chronic liver diseases of viral aetiology because it improves the biochemical parameters of hepatocellular necrosis and/or increased liver cell permeability.