ONO Masafumi    Department   School of Medicine(Tokyo Women's Medical University Adachi Medical Center), School of Medicine    Position
Article types	Original article
Language	English
Peer review	Peer reviewed
Title	Efficacy of glutathione for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: an open-label, single-arm, multicenter, pilot study.
Journal	Formal name：BMC gastroenterology Abbreviation：BMC Gastroenterol ISSN code：1471230X/1471230X
Domestic / Foregin	Foregin
Volume, Issue, Page	17(1),pp.96
Author and coauthor	Honda Yasushi, Kessoku Takaomi, Sumida Yoshio, Kobayashi Takashi, Kato Takayuki, Ogawa Yuji, Tomeno Wataru, Imajo Kento, Fujita Koji, Yoneda Masato, Kataoka Koshi, Taguri Masataka, Yamanaka Takeharu, Seko Yuya, Tanaka Saiyu, Saito Satoru, Ono Masafumi, Oeda Satoshi, Eguchi Yuichiro, Aoi Wataru, Sato Kenji, Itoh Yoshito, Nakajima Atsushi
Publication date	2017/08
Summary	BACKGROUND:Glutathione plays crucial roles in the detoxification and antioxidant systems of cells and has been used to treat acute poisoning and chronic liver diseases by intravenous injection. This is a first study examining the therapeutic effects of oral administration of glutathione in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).METHODS:The study was an open label, single arm, multicenter, pilot trial. Thirty-four NAFLD patients diagnosed using ultrasonography were prospectively evaluated. All patients first underwent intervention to improve their lifestyle habits (diet and exercise) for 3 months, followed by treatment with glutathione (300 mg/day) for 4 months. We evaluated their clinical parameters before and after glutathione treatment. We also quantified liver fat and fibrosis using vibration-controlled transient elastography. The primary outcome of the study was the change in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels.RESULTS:Twenty-nine patients finished the protocol. ALT levels significantly decreased following treatment with glutathione for 4 months. In addition, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids, and ferritin levels also decreased with glutathione treatment. Following dichotomization of ALT responders based on a median 12.9% decrease from baseline, we found that ALT responders were younger in age and did not have severe diabetes compared with ALT non-responders. The controlled attenuation parameter also decreased in ALT responders.CONCLUSIONS:This pilot study demonstrates the potential therapeutic effects of oral administration of glutathione in practical dose for patients with NAFLD. Large-scale clinical trials are needed to verify its efficacy.TRIAL REGISTRATION:UMIN000011118 (date of registration: July 4, 2013).
DOI	10.1186/s12876-017-0652-3
PMID	28789631