In the subgroup of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis  , ursodeoxycholic acid  reduced total cholesterol ( WMD : − 29.86 mg/dL , 95 % CI : -47.39 , − 12.33 , p = 0.001 ) and LDL-C ( WMD : -37.27 mg/dL , 95 % CI : -54.16 , − 20.38 , p < 0.001 ) concentrations without affecting TG and HDL-C. Conclusion This meta- analysis suggests that ursodeoxycholic acid therapy might be associated with significant total cholesterol lowering particularly in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis
Objective The aim of this meta- analysis of r and omized placebo-controlled trials was to examine whether ursodeoxycholic acid treatment is an effective lipid-lowering agent .
High-dose ursodeoxycholic acid therapy for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
UNLABELLED In uncontrolled clinical studies , ursodeoxycholic acid ( UDCA ) had a beneficial effect on  nonalcoholic steatohepatitis ( NASH ) .  However , a large controlled trial using UDCA ( 13 - 15 mg/kg/day ) was unable to confirm these results . Accordingly , a r and omized , placebo-controlled study was initiated with a high dose of UDCA ( 23 - 28 mg/kg/day ) . The allocation of patients and the evaluation of liver histology were performed according to a modified Brunt score and the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score ( NAS ) . With the modified Brunt score , 185 patients with histologically proven NASH were r and omized [ intention to treat ( ITT ) ] , and 147 were treated per protocol ( PP ) . With the NAS , 137 patients were confirmed to have NASH , 48 had borderline NASH , and 1 did not have NASH . The treatment time was 18 months . At entry , the treatment groups were comparable . A second biopsy sample was obtained from 139 of 185 patients ( NAS : 107/137 ) . The primary criterion for evaluation was a change in the liver histology ; the secondary criteria were single histological variables and liver biochemistry . Significant differences in the overall histology could not be detected between the two treatment groups with the modified Brunt score ( P = 0.881 ) or NAS ( P = 0.355 ) . Only lobular inflammation improved significantly ( P for the modified Brunt score = 0.011 , P for NAS = 0.005 ) . In subgroup analyses , significant improvements in lobular inflammation were also observed in males , younger patients up to 50 years of age , slightly overweight patients , and patients with hypertension and an increased histology score . The fibrosis score did not change ( P for ITT = 0.133 , P for PP = 0.140 ) . With the exception of gamma-glutamyl transferase , UDCA did not improve laboratory data . CONCLUSION High-dose UDCA failed to improve the overall histology in patients with NASH in comparison with placebo
In the subgroup of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis  , ursodeoxycholic acid  reduced total cholesterol ( WMD : − 29.86 mg/dL , 95 % CI : -47.39 , − 12.33 , p = 0.001 ) and LDL-C ( WMD : -37.27 mg/dL , 95 % CI : -54.16 , − 20.38 , p < 0.001 ) concentrations without affecting TG and HDL-C. Conclusion This meta- analysis suggests that ursodeoxycholic acid therapy might be associated with significant total cholesterol lowering particularly in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis
Objective The aim of this meta- analysis of r and omized placebo-controlled trials was to examine whether ursodeoxycholic acid treatment is an effective lipid-lowering agent .