Effect of s-adenosylmethionine combined with ursodeoxycholic acid on elderly hepatitis E patients

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of s-adenosylmethionine and ursodeoxycholic acid in the treatment of elderly patients with hepatitis E. Methods Seventy-two elderly patients with hepatitis E were randomly divided into treatment group consisted of 37 cases and control group consisted of 35 cases. The control group was treated with regular medicine,the treatment group was treated with s-adenosylmethionine combined with ursodeoxycholic acid plus regular medicine. Before and 30 days after treatment ,the patients in both groups were observed for their levels of total bilirubin (TBil),ALT,total bile acid (TBA)and the changes of symptoms and physical signs. Results Tirty days after treatment,the total effective rate was significantly higher in the treatment group than that of the control group (x2=7.720,P 0.01).Compared with the control group,the levels of TBil and TBA were significantly decreased in the treatment group (P 0.01),but there was no significant difference between the two groups about the level of ALT (t =0.061,P0.05).No severe adverse reactions were found in both groups. Conclusion S-adenosylmethionine combined with ursodeoxycholic acid is effective and safe for treatment of elderly pafients with hepatitis E.