Combination Therapy With Ursodeoxycholic Acid (UDCA) and All-Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA) for Treatment of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

Summary

The purpose of this research study is to determine whether the combination of UDCA and ATRA taken for 3 months will improve laboratory tests of liver and bile duct inflammation in patients with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). Our hypothesis is that a combination of these medications will improve the liver inflammatory tests in these patients, specifically a reduction in alkaline phosphatase (AP) by at least 30%.

Timeline

Start

2011-10

Primary completion

2014-06

Completion

2015-12

Publications

• Background He H, Mennone A, Boyer JL, Cai SY. Combination of retinoic acid and ursodeoxycholic acid attenuates liver injury in bile duct-ligated rats and human hepatic cells. Hepatology. 2011 Feb;53(2):548-57. doi: 10.1002/hep.24047. Epub 2010 Dec 10.

Drugs

Indications