Breakthrough Discovery: UDCA Unleashes Powerful Protection Against Coronavirus – Slowing Down Infection Risk and Progression

【Health News】The correlation between UDCA (ursodeoxycholic acid), a representative ingredient in liver function improvement drugs such as Ursa, and COVID-19 has been reproved. This is through the second large-scale cohort study conducted in Korea.

It lowers the risk of COVID-19 infection and the progression of its severity. The possibility of supplementary options for preventing COVID-19 appears to be gradually increasing.

The research team of Professors Baek Yang-hyeon and Moon Sang-i of the Department of Gastroenterology at Dong-A University Hospital and Professor Son Min-guk of the Department of Physiology at Dong-a University College of Medicine conducted a study that demonstrated the effectiveness of taking UDCA in preventing COVID-19 in patients with chronic liver disease among those actually infected with COVID-19. It was announced on the 30th that the results were published in the SCI-level international academic journal ‘Virology Journal’.

Previously, Professor Kim Jong-seung’s research team at Chonbuk National University Hospital also published a study in an international academic journal showing that UDCA significantly reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection and severity.

The research team conducted a large-scale cohort study of 3.48 million people based on data from the National Health Insurance and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to determine the extent to which taking UDCA in patients with chronic liver disease affects the prevention of COVID-19 infection and the effects of infection. Among patients with chronic liver disease for more than a year, propensity matching and analysis were performed on a 1:1 basis between patients who took UDCA and those who did not. The primary endpoint was the first confirmed case of COVID-19 and severe COVID-19-related outcomes.

According to the study results, taking UDCA in patients with chronic liver disease was confirmed to reduce both the risk of COVID-19 infection and progression to severity. First, patients with chronic liver disease who took UDCA had a 20% lower risk of COVID-19 infection than those who did not take UDCA. Additionally, the risk of severe COVID-19, including death, CPR, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and admission to the intensive care unit, was 33% lower in the UDCA-taking group compared to the non-taking group. In the subgroup analysis, it was confirmed that as the UDCA dose increased, both COVID-19 infection and infection-related outcomes decreased.

Professor Baek Yang-hyeon said, “This study was a large-scale cohort study that analyzed the relationship between UDCA intake and COVID-19 in patients with chronic liver disease among actual COVID-19 infected patients using domestic data.” He added, “It is a popular liver function improvement drug that is highly accessible.” “As such, UDCA showed meaningful data as an adjuvant therapy for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in patients with chronic liver disease who are vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and progression to severe disease,” he said.

Meanwhile, UDCA is a key component of non-toxic bile acid and has cell protection, immune regulation, and anti-inflammatory effects, and is prescribed for the treatment of various liver diseases, improvement of indigestion in inflammatory small intestine diseases, and treatment and prevention of gallstones.

In particular, UDCA has been confirmed to prevent COVID-19 infection by suppressing the expression of the bile acid receptor ‘FXR (farnesoid X receptor)’ through several previous studies. The COVID-19 prevention effect was first introduced in the international academic journal ‘Nature’ in December 2022. Subsequently, significant research results were confirmed one after another in ‘The Journal of Internal Medicine’ (May 2023 issue), and related research papers are currently being actively published at home and abroad.