title: Guidelines for therapy of autoimmune liver disease.
abstract: The principle of therapy for chronic inflammatory liver diseases is the removal of causal agents. For autoimmune liver diseases, however, total removal of causal agents and immune cells is impossible. Therefore, autoimmune liver diseases are presently treated by suppression of the immune response. Autoimmune hepatitis is characteristically responsive to corticosteroids, often used in combination with azathioprine to obtain a steroid-sparing effect. For primary biliary cirrhosis, ursodeoxycholic acid is safe and is the first choice for treatment. Treatment of this autoimmune liver disease should also address various symptoms and complications arising from any associated autoimmune diseases, particularly cholestasis and cirrhosis-related complications. For primary sclerosing cholangitis there are no established immunomodulatory therapies, but medical, endoscopic, and surgical treatments are applicable to this disease. Liver transplantation becomes indicated during the eventual end stages of each of these immune-mediated liver diseases.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Center, National Hospital Organization (NHO), Nagasaki Medical Center, and Department of Hepatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.forename: Atsumasa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Komori
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimoda
authors.forename: M Eric
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Gershwin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001379:Azathioprine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002756:Cholagogues and Choleretics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015209:Cholangitis, Sclerosing / Q000628:therapy*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019693:Hepatitis, Autoimmune / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D002756:Cholagogues and Choleretics; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid; D001379:Azathioprine