Does the control of alanine aminotransferase levels lead to a regression of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients?

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of various medications other than interferon (IFN) on liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C (CII-C) patients, and the results were compared with those obtained in CH-C patients without therapy. Fifty CH-C patients (31 men and 18 women; mean age 58.5 years) without previous IFN therapy, who randomly received medicines other than IFN such as Stronger Neo-Minophagen C, Ursodeoxycholic acid and a herbal medicine, Sho-saiko-to (TJ-9) (Group I), and as a control group, 45 CII-C patients (27 men and 18 women; mean age 56.6 years) without therapy (Group TT) were examined. All patients had persistent alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation more than 6 months before this study and were also subdivided into three subgroups according to different pattern of ALT during the observation period, i.e. (a): persistently ALT < 60 IU/l (below about twice the upper limit of normal range); (b): persistently ALT <greater than or equal to> 60 IU/l; and (c) other than (a) and (b). All patients were biopsied twice before starting this study and during observation period and the liver fibrosis was compared between them by staging in each case. When the fibrosis stage was the same between two specimens, we determined whether the degree of fibrosis had improved or worsened by computed image analysis. Blood tests for fibrosis marker, serum aminoterminal peptide of type III procollagen (P III P) and liver enzyme such as albumin (Alb) and zinc turbidity test (ZTT) levels, and platelet (Plt) counts were also examined on the two times of liver biopsy. As a result, there were no significant differences in fibrotic improvement rate when assessed by both staging only and staging together with Fibrotic ratio, determined by computed image analysis and also in yearly change of P III P (P/Y) and fibrosis (F/Y), the changed rate of Alb, ZTT levels and Pit counts between Group I and Group II, except for P/Y in subgroup (a) which was rather higher in Group I than in Group Il. There were also no significant relationship between the changes of histological activity and fibrosis staging in both groups. In conclusion, other medications than IFN could not significantly improve both liver fibrosis and its associated laboratory data irrespective of ALT levels in CII-C patients as compared to the control group during average 3 years' follow-up period. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.