Therapy of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis: Novel Approaches for Patients with Suboptimal Response to Ursodeoxycholic Acid

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic disease of presumed autoimmune pathogenesis, characterized by the inflammation and damage of the intrahepatic intermediate and small bile ducts, which eventually results in cirrhosis. A number of randomized and observational and pilot studies using several agents were carried out in the 80s, but no clear results or even harmful effects were reported. Over the past 2 decades, increasing evidence indicates that ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) - 13 to 16 mg/kg/day--is the treatment of choice for patients with PBC. Biochemical response to UDCA, assessed at 1 year, clearly predicts the long-term outcome, since in UDCA, responders survival is similar to that estimated for the matched control population. However, about 40% of patients have incomplete biochemical response and increased risk of progression and decreased survival free of transplantation. Patients with suboptimal biochemical response to UDCA outline the group in whom further single or combined treatments with UDCA are needed. Accordingly, data on the effect of fibrates alone or in combination with UDCA, and budesonide in combination with UDCA have been reported. The combined treatment of UDCA and fibrates in patients without optimal biochemical response to UDCA improves the degree of cholestasis and may minimize the long-term management of these patients. The results of the combined therapy of UDCA with budesonide are appealing but they should be established in large randomized trials. The effect of new agents such obeticholic acid are promising, since the addition of this farnesoide-X-receptor agonist bile acid in patients with stable UDCA dosage and increased alkaline phosphatase levels results in an improvement of cholestasis as compared to placebo, with a parallel decrease of aminotransferases and immunoglobulin M, as well as one surrogate marker of bile acid synthesis. New molecular therapies are currently being investigated.