Combination treatment of Chinese traditional and Western medicine in chronic hepatitis and liver fibrosis
A primary complication of chronic viral hepatitis is liver fibrosis. The most effective therapeutic strategies will include agents that exert antiviral, immunomodulatory and anti-fibrotic effects. While several antivirals are currently available in Western medicine, including the widely used pegylat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | zho |
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Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Hepatology
2013-04-01
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| Series: | Linchuang Gandanbing Zazhi |
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| Online Access: | http://www.lcgdbzz.org/qk_content.asp?id=5293&ClassID=31291135 |
| Summary: | A primary complication of chronic viral hepatitis is liver fibrosis. The most effective therapeutic strategies will include agents that exert antiviral, immunomodulatory and anti-fibrotic effects. While several antivirals are currently available in Western medicine, including the widely used pegylated interferons and nucleostde analoges, they are limited by a relatively high incidence of resistance. Therefore, supplementation with traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) may not only provide the immunomodulatory and anti-fibrotic effects, but also promote the overall curative effect of the antiviral treatment. In this review, we disucss several kinds of the TCMs that are promising candidates for such a liver-targeting integrative therapeutic approach. In particular, Salvia miltiorrhiza (also known as danshen) and various species of the Astragalus genus is known to promote circulation and remove stasis (based on “stasis of blood” theory). Other TCMs with tonifying Qi provide liver-soothing and strengthen the spleen’s immune function, such as ginseng and the Chinese caterpillar fungus (from Ophiocordyceps sinensis); these TCMs′ effects on the inflammatory system can ultimately help to reduce necrosis and liver fibrotic lesions. There are still other TCMs exerting direct antifibrotic effects, such as the radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae-based compounds. Use of an integrative medicine approach, combining Western medicines with TCMs, to treat chronic viral hepatitis and liver fibrosis, is still in its infancy. Systematic experimental and clinical studies are necessary to determine the optimal agents, combinations, dosages, and schedules to acheive the optimal efficacy. |
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| ISSN: | 1001-5256 1001-5256 |