Effects of S-adenosyl-L-Methionine Combined with Ursodesoxycholic Acid on Serum Endotoxin, MMP-9 and IL-18 in Neonates with Cholestasis

To compare the effect of ursodesoxycholic acid (UDCA) with S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) plus UDCA in handling of cholestasis in neonates, and their influences on serum endotoxin, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and interleukin 18 (IL-18).Randomised controlled trial. Luzhou People's Hospital, China, from April 2019 to December 2020.A total of 102 neonates with cholestasis were evenly divided into control group and observation group with random double-blind. The former treated with UDCA tablets, and the latter was treated with SAMe plus UDCA. Serum endotoxin, MMP-9 and IL-18 were compared between the two groups.Total effective rate of treatment in observation group was 92.16% (47 cases), which was higher than that in control group 70.59% (36 cases) (p=0.005). Levels of serum endotoxin, MMP-9 and IL-18 in observation group were respectively 11.12 ± 1.07 pg/mL, 646.72 ± 42.56 ng/mL and 2.51 ± 0.19 pg/mL, which was lower than those in control group (p<0.001, p =0.007 and p<0.001, respectively) after 10 days of treatment.Compared with UDCA alone, SAMe plus UDCA can more effectively improve the curative effect of neonatal cholestasis, and reduce serum endotoxin, MMP-9 and IL-18 levels. Key Words: Ursodesoxycholic acid (UDCA), Neonates, Cholestasis, Endotoxin, Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), Interleukin 18 (IL-18).