TAUROURSODEOXYCHOLIC ACID FOR THE TREATMENT OF HCV-RELATED CHRONIC HEPATITIS - A MULTICENTER PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Tauroursodeoxycholic acid is a promising drug for the treatment of chronic cholestatic liver diseases since it has more fav ourable physicochemical and metabolic properties than ursodeoxycholic acid. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid may be of benefit also for necroinflam matory liver disease, especially for HCV-related chronic hepatitis in which bile duet damage and some degree of cholestasis are frequently s een at histology. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and fifty patients with chr onic hepatitis were randomly assigned to receive tauroursodeoxycholic acid at daily doses of 500 mg or 750 mg, or a placebo for: 6 months. R ESULTS: A consistent decrease in aminotransferase serum levels was obs erved in patients treated with tauroursodeoxycholic acid compared with placebo (p<0.001) and a progressive improvement with time was also fo und (p<0.05; linear time effect). CONCLUSIONS: Tauroursodeoxycholic ac id improves the biochemical expression of chronic hepatitis. Long-term studies with clinically relevant end-points are warranted.