SynthesisBMC gastroenterology2013
The role of ursodeoxycholic acid in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC gastroenterology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 137 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: an umbrella review of meta-analyses on liver enzymes.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Pharmacological interventions for non-alcohol related fatty liver disease (NAFLD): an attempted network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Overview and recent trends of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in hepatology.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2014Pooled it
- Gallstone Dissolution Effects of Combination Therapy with n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Ursodeoxycholic Acid: A Randomized, Prospective, Preliminary Clinical Trial.Gut and liver · 2024Trial
- Efficacy and safety of ursodeoxycholic acid composite on fatigued patients with elevated liver function and/or fatty liver: a multi-centre, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.International journal of clinical practice · 2016Trial
- Efficacy and Safety of "URSA Complex" in Subjects with Physical Fatigue: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial.Chinese medical journal · 2016Trial
- An open-label randomized control study to compare the efficacy of vitamin e versus ursodeoxycholic acid in nondiabetic and noncirrhotic Indian NAFLD patients.Saudi journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Saudi Gastroenterology AssociationTrial
- Perspectives of Indian Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Diagnosis and Management: Insights From the Nationwide Web-Based Cross-Sectional DRIVE Survey.Interactive journal of medical research · 2026Article
- From chemical composition to clinical application: the value of bile-based traditional Chinese medicines in the treatment of liver diseases.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Metabolomics for searching non-invasive biomarkers of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in youth with vertical HIV.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- CALB Immobilized on Octyl-Agarose-An Efficient Pharmaceutical Biocatalyst for Transesterification in Organic Medium.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Pharmacological Treatment of MASLD: Contemporary Treatment and Future Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Intermittent fasting and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: the potential role of the gut-liver axis.Cell & bioscience · 2025Review
- Mitigating Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD): The Role of Bioactive Phytoconstituents in Indian Culinary Spices.Current nutrition reports · 2025Review
- Quantitative Evaluation by Digital Pathology of Immunohistochemical Expression of CK7, CK19, and EpCAM in Advanced Stages of NASH.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- The therapeutic mechanisms and beneficial effects of ursodeoxycholic acid in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review.Medicine and pharmacy reports · 2024Review
- Combinatorial therapy with BAR502 and UDCA resets FXR and GPBAR1 signaling and reverses liver histopathology in a model of NASH.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The Impact of an SGLT2 Inhibitor versus Ursodeoxycholic Acid on Liver Steatosis in Diabetic Patients.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Combination Therapies for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNon-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a condition that occurs during the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Effective therapy for NASH is still lacking. In this study, we investigated the effects of Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in the treatment of NASH.
methodsWestern and Chinese databases were searched by independent investigators using appropriate MESH headings to identify randomized, controlled Western and Chinese clinical trials, published between January 1990 and October 2012, testing the effects of UDCA in patients with NASH. Patient characteristics and trial endpoints were analyzed, with quality assessment according to widely acknowledged criteria. P < 0.05 was defined as statistically significant in all trials.
resultsTwelve qualified randomized clinical trials, including six from China and involving 1160 subjects, were selected. Seven of these trials assessed the effects of UDCA Monotherapy, with the other five testing combinations of UDCA with vitamin E, polyene phosphatidylcholine, silymarin, glycyrrhizin and tiopronin. The duration of therapy ranged from 3 to 24 months, with two studies using high doses of UDCA (23-35 mg/kg/d). The average quality point was 2.69, and was significantly lower in articles from China than in those from Western countries (2.2 ± 0.4 vs. 3.8 ± 1.1, respectively, p < 0.05). UDCA Monotherapy significantly improved liver function in five studies and improved steatosis and fibrosis in two studies. All five studies assessing UDCA combination therapy showed significant improvements liver function, while two studies also improved steatosis and inflammation. One study of high-dose UDCA showed significant improvements in ALT, γGT and liver fibrosis, whereas the other study showed no significant change in ALT and liver pathology.
conclusionsUDCA therapy is effective in NASH, especially when combined with other drugs. However, the low quality of these studies and the heterogeneity of their results precluded further meta-analysis. Additional carefully designed clinical trials are needed, especially in China.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.