The Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
(NAFLD) affects the 30% of worldwide population with
greater incidence (60-80%) in type 2 diabetic patients
and progresses to not alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
with subsequent severe outcome (fibrosis cirrhosis, liver
cancer). Several clinical studies showed that bile acids
administration at sustained dosages can improve the
NAFLD syndrome counteracting it’s worsening and
death risk; we thus planned to compare the benefits and
side effects of oral versus intravenous treatment of
UDCA on 100 overweight not-diabetic volunteers (41
males and 59 females), with strictly similar
biochemical–clinical expressions of nonalcoholic fatty
liver disease (NAFLD). The patients were divided in two
groups: one with 50 mg / kg /daily/os and the other with
3500 mg in 500ml saline perfusion each other day
(except the weekend) for a total of 24 intravenous
sessions. The results in terms of tolerability, symptoms
relieve, and liver enzymes improvement defined the
parenteral treatment as the most effective, being the
oral burden somehow troublesome with some untoward
effects not appearing in the intravenous route.