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Is cirrhosis reversible?
Author(s) -
WANLESS IAN R
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2004.03700.x
Subject(s) - cirrhosis , medicine , fibrosis , portal hypertension , disease , stage (stratigraphy) , hepatic veins , pathology , radiology , gastroenterology , portal vein , paleontology , biology
Cirrhosis has traditionally been considered as an irreversible end‐stage of liver disease. In recent years clinical and histologic improvement has been documented in many patients if the primary disease can be controlled. Hepatic fibrosis can be resorbed from the liver through the action of proteinases. This causes fibrous septa to become delicate and in some instances to disappear. After septa are resorbed cirrhosis is not present according to the histologic definition. However, an early event in the formation of cirrhosis is obliteration of small portal and hepatic veins; regeneration of these veins is necessary to complete the process of reversal of cirrhosis. New systems of histologic analysis are necessary to define the cirrhotic state, such as the Laennec staging system.