Efficacy of Tiopronin in treatment of severe non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
BACKGROUND
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinicopathologic syndrome of which the main feature is diffuse macrovesicular hepatic steatosis caused by deposition of excessive free fatty acid and triglyceride in liver parenchyma.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the efficacy of Tiopronin in treatment of severe nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).


METHODS
30 patients with severe NAFLD were treated with Tiopronin for 3 months. 30 healthy people were selected as control. The body mass index (BMI) and plasma levels of endotoxin (ET), leptin, IL-6 and IL-8 were measured before and after treatment.


RESULTS
The serum levels of ET, leptin, IL-6 and IL-8 in severe NAFLD group were significantly higher than those in control group (p < 0.05). After treatment with Tiopronin, these indexes were significantly lower than before (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The intestinal endotoxemia (IETM) occurs in patients with severe NAFLD. Leptin, IL-6 and IL-8 play important roles in pathogenesis of NAFLD. Tiopronin can reduce the levels of ET, leptin, IL-6 and IL-8 for treatment of NAFLD.
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. yanzhaocn@163.com.
M-C
MC
Tang
L
L
Cheng
L
L
Qiu
R-G
RG
Jia
R-Q
RQ
Sun
X-P
XP
Wang
G-Y
GY
Hu
Y
Y
Zhao
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008625:Tiopronin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D004731:Endotoxins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8; D020738:Leptin; D014280:Triglycerides; D008625:Tiopronin