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DDB treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis
Author(s) -
Huber Roman,
Hockenjos Birgit,
Blum Hubert E.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.20247
Subject(s) - medicine , gastroenterology , chronic hepatitis , alanine aminotransferase , glutamate dehydrogenase , chronic liver disease , hepatitis , liver disease , steatohepatitis , hepatology , immunology , glutamate receptor , disease , cirrhosis , fatty liver , virus , receptor
We report 13 patients (10 with chronic hepatitis C, 1 with chronic hepatitis B, 2 with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) with persistently elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels who were treated with dimethyl‐4,4′‐dimethoxy‐5,6,5′,6‐dimethylenedioxybiphenyl‐2,2′ dicarboxylate (DDB). ALT rapidly normalized in 12/13 patients and remained normal during treatment. Unlike ALT levels, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma‐glutamyl transferase and glutamate dehydrogenase levels were not affected. Furthermore, there was no beneficial effect on the histological grade and stage of liver disease. In vitro experiments with hepatocytes resulted in a significant decrease of hepatocellular ALT levels in the DDB treated cells, suggesting, that DDB affects the synthesis and/or degradation of ALT in liver cells. In conclusion , the normalization of ALT during DDB treatment does not indicate therapeutic efficacy. In view of the wide use of DDB in patients with chronic liver diseases who participate in clinical studies DDB use should be excluded. (H EPATOLOGY 2004;39:1732–1733.)