Editing TUDCA (tauroursodeoxycholic acid)

[[Information on nutritional supplements people with ALS have been taking]]

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauroursodeoxycholic_acid Wikipedia page]

* [http://examine.com/supplements/Tauroursodeoxycholic+Acid/ Examine.com]

* [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/21678421.2014.931010 ALSUntangled evaluation report]

== Effects on ALS ==

TUDCA is a taurine-conjugated form of ursodiol and is commonly used for treatment of chronic cholestatic liver diseases and for gallstone. It possesses many additional ancillary features, including the inhibition of mitochondrial-associated apoptosis through diﬀerent mechanisms. It has been shown that, in a cellular model of superoxide dismutase 1 neurodegeneration, glycine-conjugated UDCA inhibits nitrite production and prevents matrix metallopeptidase 9 activation {{#pmid:25664595|elia2015}}.

At the end of the 54-week treatment period, patients in the TUDCA group had a mean ALSFRS-R score corresponding to that of the placebo group at week 36. This suggests that a 1-year TUDCA treatment may slow ALS deterioration by 18 weeks and leads us to suppose that a longer duration of treatment may produce an even more accentuated between-group divergence {{#pmid:25664595|elia2015}}.

This study was designed to assess the effects of UDCA on oxidative injury and antioxidative systems in cultured rat hepatocytes. The viability of the hepatocytes dose-dependently decreased after hydrogen peroxide or cadmium administration. Pretreatment with UDCA significantly prevented this decrease in viability. The amounts of glutathione (GSH) and protein thiol increased significantly, but the activities of antioxidative enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase were unchanged in UDCA-treated hepatocytes. The mRNA levels of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and metallothionein (MT) were significantly higher in UDCA-treated hepatocytes than in controls. In conclusion, UDCA increased hepatocyte levels of GSH and thiol-containing proteins such as MT, thereby protecting hepatocytes against oxidative injury. {{#pmid:10491327|mitsuyoshi1999}}

UDCA significantly (p<0.05) restored GSH and total sulfhydryl, and decreased MDA levels. T-AOC and the mean activities of the antioxidant enzymes were elevated following treatment with UDCA. {{#pmid:22275806|qi2012}}

== Cautions ==

According to Examine.com: "If using TUDCA for treating an alcohol-abused liver, be aware of the temporal relationship needed. Co-incubation (same time) or rehabilitative (after the matter) usage of TUDCA may be protective of the liver while pre-loading TUDCA before drinking may be harmful to the liver."

== Discussion threads on the ALSTDI forum ==

* [http://www.alstdi.org/forum/yaf_postst46155_tudca.aspx TUDCA]

* [http://www.alstdi.org/forum/yaf_postsm411937_tudca.aspx tudca]

== References ==


[[Category:Supplement data pages]]