Open AccessFenofibrate for patients with asymptomatic primary biliary cirrhosis
Author(s) -
Kazufumi Dohmen,
Toshihiko Mizuta,
Makoto Nakamuta,
Naoya Shimohashi,
Hiromi Ishibashi,
Kyosuke Yamamoto
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
world journal of gastroenterology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.427
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 2219-2840
pISSN - 1007-9327
DOI - 10.3748/wjg.v10.i6.894
Subject(s) - primary biliary cirrhosis , asymptomatic , medicine , fenofibrate , gastroenterology , cirrhosis
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic, cholestatic disease of autoimmune etiology, the histology of which shows a destruction of the intrahepatic bile duct and portal inflammation. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is now used as a first-line drug for asymptomatic PBC (aPBC) because it is reported that UDCA decreases mortality and prolongs the time of liver transplantation. However, only 20-30% of patients respond fully to UDCA. Recently, lipoprotein-lowering agents have been found to be effective for PBC. The aim of this study was to examine the safety and efficacy of fenofibrate, a member of the fibrate class of hypolipidemic and anti-inflammatory agent via peroxysome proliferatory-activated receptor alpha, in patients with aPBC.