Silymarin in the Treatment of Patients with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: An Open-Label Pilot Study

No effective medical therapy is available for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). We evaluated the safety and estimated the efficacy of silymarin in patients with PSC in a pilot study. Thirty patients with PSC were enrolled. Silymarin, 140 mg orally three times daily, was given for 1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Digestive diseases and sciences 2008-06, Vol.53 (6), p.1716-1720
Main Authors: Angulo, Paul, Jorgensen, Roberta A., Kowdley, Kris V., Lindor, Keith D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration, Oral
Adult
Aged
Biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Cholangitis, Sclerosing - drug therapy
Feeding. Feeding behavior
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen
Hepatology
Humans
Liver Function Tests
Liver. Biliary tract. Portal circulation. Exocrine pancreas
Male
Medical sciences
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Oncology
Original Paper
Other diseases. Semiology
Pilot Projects
Protective Agents - administration & dosage
Protective Agents - therapeutic use
Silymarin - administration & dosage
Silymarin - therapeutic use
Statistics, Nonparametric
Transplant Surgery
Treatment Outcome
Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
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Summary:No effective medical therapy is available for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). We evaluated the safety and estimated the efficacy of silymarin in patients with PSC in a pilot study. Thirty patients with PSC were enrolled. Silymarin, 140 mg orally three times daily, was given for 1 year. A statistically significant improvement in serum alkaline phosphatase activity (1131 ± 216 vs. 861 ± 139, P  = 0.007), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels (116 ± 15 vs. 83 ± 11, P  = 0.01) occurred with treatment. Serum bilirubin levels were not significantly affected by the treatment, while serum albumin and the Mayo risk score remained essentially unchanged. Overall, 34% of patients had a positive response to silymarin as defined by ≥50% improvement or normal status in liver tests. The results of this pilot study warrant further evaluation of silymarin in patients with PSC in a large-scale, controlled trial.
ISSN:0163-2116
1573-2568
DOI:10.1007/s10620-007-0052-6