Abstract

Liver diseases are becoming a major health concern. In the developing countries it is due to microbial infection. In the rest of the developed world it is due to alcohol abuse. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis are a significant health concern in western countries. It is the fifth most common cause of death, after heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chest disease. The liver is capable of regeneration, but it can be overwhelmed leading to liver diseases like cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer (HCC).

Vitamin D levels are low in most patients with liver diseases, and this suggests possible therapeutic benefits with use of vitamin D or its analogues. Vitamin D, through the vitamin D nuclear-40 receptor (VDR) plays a crucial role in mineral ion homeostasis. The liver is central in vitamin D synthesis and there is a need for an agent that will not lead to hypercalcemia. Metadichol, a nano emulsion of long-chain alcohols derived from food, is an inverse agonist of Vitamin D.

In Diabetic rat studies, it inhibits TNF alpha, ICAM1 (intracellular adhesion molecule), CCL2 (chemokine C-C motif) is also referred to as monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP1). All these cytokines, chemokines are known to have important role in liver diseases. We show that Metadichol indeed does work in liver disease patients by normalizing essential liver enzymes ALT, AST and ALP, and GGT. This approach is an example where Metadichol targets multiple genes and via multiple pathways to bring about homeostasis of the liver and is a useful, safe, nontoxic product in treating liver diseases and alleviating a global threat.

Keywords: Liver; Cirrhosis; Hepatocellular cancer; Hepatic failure; NAFLD; NASH; TNF; CCL2; MCP1; PAI1; ICAM1; Inverse agonist; VDR; Gilbert syndrome