Vitamin E and changes in serum alanine aminotransferase levels in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common cause of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevations and chronic liver disease, but it is unclear how well ALT elevations reflect the liver injury.

Aim

To assess how well changes in ALT elevations reflect improvements in liver histology in response to vitamin E therapy.

Methods

The vitamin E and placebo arms of the Pioglitazone vs. Vitamin E vs. Placebo in Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (PIVENS) trial were reassessed for associations among changes in ALT levels, body weight and liver histology. An ALT response was defined as a decrease to ≤40 U/L and by ≥30% of baseline. Liver biopsies taken before and after treatment were scored for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease activity (NAS) and fibrosis.

Results

SUBMITTER: Hoofnagle JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3775262 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature