Prof. Higinio Mappala
Professor
Title: The Efficacy of Ursodeoxycholic Acid in the Treatment of Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis: A 15-year Systematic Review
Biography
Biography: Prof. Higinio Mappala
Abstract
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common forms of chronic liver disease which may progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Currently there are no therapeutic strategies for such disease. Only lifestyle modification through diet and exercise were proven to afford some benefit in patients with NAFLD. No pharmacologic agents have so far been approved for the treatment of NAFLD or NASH. Therefore, most clinical efforts have been directed at treating the components of metabolic syndrome, namely obesity, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemias. Other interventions are directed at specific pathways potentially involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, such as insulin resistance, oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis, bacterial overgrowth, and angiotensin pathway. However, since the FLINT study, the largest NASH study to date, no drug has ever come close to Obeticholic acid except Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). This lecture aims to show the potential of Ursodeoxycholic Acid (UDCA) as a promising therapeutic option for NAFLD. This is a 10-year Systematic Review of randomized controlled trials on the effects of Ursodeoxycholic Acid on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. (NAFLD). Ursodeoxycholic Acid may yet prove to be a targeted treatment for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.