TUDCA for Liver Cirrhosis
For liver cirrhosis, TUDCA rests on a single tiny human trial that nudged liver-enzyme numbers but did not improve fibrosis or any meaningful clinical outcome. It is not an established treatment, and no major regulator or medical society endorses the supplement for this condition.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
Direct human evidence is thin. Just one small double-blind RCT (PMID 23592128, n=18, 26 weeks) tested TUDCA in actual cirrhosis: it significantly lowered ALT, AST and ALP and raised albumin, but serum fibrosis markers did not change meaningfully and only a single patient showed histological improvement. These are surrogate lab numbers, not proof the disease itself improves.
The remaining trials sit outside established cirrhosis. A dose-response study in primary biliary cirrhosis (PMID 8674405, n=24) cut liver enzymes but also lowered HDL cholesterol at higher doses, while an HCV chronic-hepatitis trial (PMID 9840118, n=150) reduced aminotransferases versus placebo (p<0.001). The encouraging fibrosis-regression data (PMID 40299532) are from rats and cells only and do not establish a human benefit.
No trial has shown a hard-outcome benefit (mortality, decompensation, or transplant-free survival), which caps the grade at weak. Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Health, and AASLD/EASL offer no TUDCA-for-cirrhosis guidance; society and regulatory backing applies to the related prescription drug UDCA in primary biliary cholangitis, a different indication. The FDA has not cleared the TUDCA supplement, and EFSA and other regulators treat it as a medicinal substance rather than a food supplement.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.485
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 無高階證據可裁決
- tier_strict_requirement_check — Tier 條件達標，未降階
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 0 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status