Cirrhosis and Fibrosis of the Liver Not Permanent

liver411

Cirrhosis and Fibrosis of the Liver Is Not Permanent



By Jorge Herrera, MD



Until recently, most experts were under the impression that once cirrhosis (severe scarring of the liver) appeared, it would never go away; all that could be achieved with treatment was to stop worsening of the cirrhosis, not return the liver to normal. Drs. Friedman, Rockey and Maher presented current knowledge on liver fibrosis (scar tissue) and cirrhosis at the postgraduate course held in conjunction with the 50th annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD).



Recent research clearly shows that scar tissue in the liver is not permanent; it can be reversed and a liver with cirrhosis could potentially return to normal once the cause of the cirrhosis is corrected. This brings new hope to patients with hepatitis C infection who have already developed fibrosis or cirrhosis. If the virus is eradicated, there is hope that the scar tissue will also go away and the liver will return to normal.



Now that there is better understanding of how scar tissue forms in the liver, research is directed to medications that may stop the scar tissue from forming or that can dissolve scars already present in the liver. There are several compounds that look promising in the laboratory. If these medicines turn out to be safe for use in humans, we may soon have a medication that can prevent scar tissue forming in the liver even if the hepatitis C infection is not eliminated.



A lot of research is also ongoing in trying to develop blood tests that could detect the presence of cirrhosis or fibrosis in the liver. Currently, the only way of knowing how much damage has occurred in the liver of patients with hepatitis C is by obtaining a liver biopsy. If tests are developed that can detect scar tissue in the liver by testing the blood, the need for a liver biopsy will basically disappear.



AASLD News

http://ns.lancenet.or.jp/heppers/index.html

Dr. Jorge Herrera is also a Associate Professor of Medicine at University of South Alabama









[ 此消息由 liver411 在 2001-12-07.14:42:02 编辑过 ]

medline

Cirrhosis and Fibrosis of the Liver Is Not Permanent



It's a good news,though the drugs are still under lab research.

BTW , liver411 ,can you point out your source of the article in your posts?

keke

thank you very much!