SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026
Efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: an umbrella review of meta-analyses on liver enzymes.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Extemporaneous Cyclodextrin-Based Oral Solution of Ursodeoxycholic Acid Using a Ready-to-Use Vehicle.Pharmaceutics · 2026Article
- Liver-nervous system axis: pathways, dysregulation, and translational perspectives.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: This umbrella review aimed to systematically synthesize and evaluate evidence from published meta-analyses regarding the efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, focusing on its impact on liver-specific biochemical markers. Methods: Following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD420251250211), a comprehensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Scopus (1985-2025) identified systematic reviews and meta-analyses evaluating UDCA therapy in MASLD. Methodological quality was appraised using AMSTAR-2, ROBIS, and GRADE frameworks. Data on hepatic biomarkers were extracted and synthesized using fixed- or random-effects models depending on heterogeneity (I Results: Five meta-analyses (33 primary studies; 5,015 participants) were eligible. UDCA demonstrated consistent and statistically significant improvements in key markers of hepatocellular injury, including ALT (SMD = -0.36; 95% CI: -0.69 to -0.03) and AST (SMD = -0.16; 95% CI: -0.22 to -0.10), as well as cholestatic markers such as GGT (SMD = -0.40; 95% CI: -0.63 to -0.18) and ALP (SMD = -0.23; 95% CI: -0.31 to -0.14), total bilirubin decreased modestly (SMD = -0.08; 95% CI: -0.15 to -0.01), while albumin level remained unchanged. Meta-regression showed that longer treatment duration was significantly associated with greater ALT reduction (-0.04 SMD per 6 months; Conclusion: UDCA demonstrates consistent hepatoprotective and cholestasis-modifying effects in MASLD. Longer treatment duration may enhance biochemical responses. Systematic review registration: CRD420251250211.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.