Obeticholic Acid Improves Aminotransferases Early during Treatment in Patients with Primary Biliary Cholangitis Not Responding to Ursodeoxycholic Acid: A Study in Clinical Practice

Obeticholic acid (OCA) improves cholestasis and is generally well tolerated in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) not responding, or intolerant, to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). As PBC is mainly a cholestatic disorder, less attention is paid to aminotransferase behavior in the course of treatment. In this study we evaluated, in clinical practice, the efficacy of OCA treatment on both alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) using updated healthy ranges for aminotransferases. Fifteen PBC patients, non-responders to UDCA, were evaluated at baseline and during OCA treatment with serial measurement of cholestasis indexes and ALT, that were also assessed using updated normal ranges (<30 IU/L in males, <19 IU/L in females). Median ALP and ALT decreased from 2.16 to 1.27 × upper limit of normal (p = 0.003) and from 0.93 to 0.78 × upper limit of normal (p = 0.008), respectively, in the course of OCA treatment. At treatment day-15, median ALT decreased by 29.7% and ALP by 8.8%. Bilirubin and albumin were unmodified throughout treatment. Using updated normal ranges, ALT levels were normal in 6.7% of patients at baseline and in 33.3% of patients at 18 months of treatment. OCA treatment improves cholestasis and, also, indexes of hepatocyte necrosis, with a decline in necro-inflammatory activity even predating the improvement in cholestasis. Use of recalibrated healthy ranges for aminotransferases might be a useful tool to assess hepatic histological activity and its improvement with OCA treatment.