Brief Articles
Copyright ©2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 14, 2009; 15(22): 2782-2786
Published online Jun 14, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.2782
A dose-up of ursodeoxycholic acid decreases transaminases in hepatitis C patients
Shuichi Sato, Tatsuya Miyake, Hiroshi Tobita, Naoki Oshima, Junichi Ishine, Takuya Hanaoka, Yuji Amano, Yoshikazu Kinoshita
Shuichi Sato, Tatsuya Miyake, Hiroshi Tobita, Naoki Oshima, Junichi Ishine, Takuya Hanaoka, Yoshikazu Kinoshita, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Shimane University, School of Medicine, Izumo 693-8501, Japan
Yuji Amano, Division of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Shimane University Hospital, Izumo 693-8501, Japan
Author contributions: Sato S, Miyake T, Tobita H, Oshima N, Ishine J, Hanaoka T, Amano Y, and Kinoshita Y performed the majority of experiments and were also involved in editing the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Shuichi Sato, MD, PhD, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Shimane University, School of Medicine, 89-1, Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane, Japan. bbsato@med.shimane-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-853-202190
Fax: +81-853-202187
Received: February 23, 2009
Revised: May 11, 2009
Accepted: May 18, 2009
Published online: June 14, 2009
Abstract

AIM: To examine whether a dose-up to 900 mg of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) decreases transaminases in hepatitis C patients.

METHODS: From January to December 2007, patients with chronic hepatitis C or compensated liver cirrhosis with hepatitis C virus (HCV) (43-80 years old) showing positive serum HCV-RNA who had already taken 600 mg/d of UDCA were recruited into this study. Blood parameters were examined at 4, 8 and 24 wk after increasing the dose of oral UDCA from 600 to 900 mg/d.

RESULTS: Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels were significantly decreased following the administration of 900 mg/d as compared to 600 mg/d. The decrease in ALT from immediately before the dose-up of UDCA to 8 wk after the dose-up was 14.3 IU/L, while that for AST was 10.5 IU/L and for GGT was 9.8 IU/L. Platelet count tended to increase after the dose-up of UDCA, although it did not show a statistically significant level (P = 0.05). Minor adverse events were observed in 3 cases, although no drop-outs from the study occurred.

CONCLUSION: Oral administration of 900 mg/d of UDCA was more effective than 600 mg/d for reducing ALT, AST, and GGT levels in patients with HCV-related chronic liver disease.

Keywords: Chronic hepatitis, Hepatitis C virus, Liver fibrosis, Transaminase, Ursodeoxycholic acid