Cirrhosis: new research provides a basis for rational and targeted treatments

摘要

Fibrosis, the liver's wound healing response, is bi-directional and potentially reversible. Antiviral treatments provide increasing evidence for reversibility of fibrosis and cirrhosis. Excess fibrillar (scar) matrix can be degraded even in advanced cirrhosis but is held in check by protease inhibitors termed TEMPs. Antifibrotic treatments are likely to be developed in the next decade, on the basis of a better understanding of the pathogenesis of fibrosis. Hepatic stellate cells have been shown to contribute to portal hypertension by dynamic contractile activity; this could lead to the design of specific agents to reduce portal hypertension.