In a new study, researchers found a new potential treatment for liver diseases including cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases.
The new finding may help save patients’ lives and improve their quality of life.
The research was conducted by a team from Mayo Clinic.
Cirrhosis a health condition in which the liver cannot function properly due to long-term damage. In the damage, normal liver tissue is replaced by scar tissue.
The condition can be caused by liver diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Drinking too much alcohol may also lead to the condition.
The common signs of cirrhosis of the liver include fatigue, yellow of the skin, loss of appetite, weakness, easy bruising and itching.
If left untreated, the condition can lead to liver cancer, which is life-threatening.
In the study, the team conducted experiments on mice found a drug therapy may treat a condition linked to cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases effectively.
The condition is portal hypertension. It is is an increase in the blood pressure within a system of veins called the portal venous system.
In the system, the portal vein that carries blood from the stomach, intestine, spleen, and pancreas to the liver.
The condition can be caused by microvascular blood clots and inflammation.
The researchers found the drug sivelestat may help lower portal hypertension effectively and improve symptoms and health outcomes in patients.
They then confirmed this finding in liver samples from humans.
The team explains that drug sivelestat has been safely used in humans with acute lung injury.
The current finding shows that sivelestat may also help decrease portal hypertension in patients with chronic liver disease.
It may help develop new drugs to target inflammation in the liver and help fight against chronic liver diseases.
Meanwhile, people should avoid binge alcohol drinking and obesity.
The senior author of the study is Vijay Shah, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist.
The study is published in Gastroenterology, the online journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.
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