Why is cirrhosis of the liver treatment bad?

Cirrhosis of the liver is a clinical common and frequently-occurring disease, the disease had entered the progressive development of decompensated period, could eventually lead to liver failure. The digestive system of common diseases, but also serious consequences of the disease, the annual incidence of 17 hundred thousandths, mainly involving 20 to 50 year-old male. Urban males 50 to 60-year-old patients with cirrhosis of the case-fatality rate of up to 112 hundred thousandths.

In May 2005 held in Beijing, “Chinese Medical Association, the Twelfth National Conference on Viral Hepatitis and Liver Disease,” on the well-known experts in the topics mentioned in the report, the current 20% to 30% of cirrhosis of the liver can be developed for the loss of decompensated cirrhosis; 6% to 15% may develop hepatocellular carcinoma. The 5-year survival rate: 55% compensated cirrhosis, decompensated liver cirrhosis was 14%, die each year from hepatitis B-related liver disease and 30 million to 50 万 人.

For the treatment of disease, at present the main clinical symptomatic liver protection and prevention of complications is still mainly dissatisfied with the overall treatment effect, particularly in the treatment of end-stage liver disease overall effectiveness of even worse.

Liver transplantation is the only way out?

China is a big country liver disease alone, there are tens of millions of hepatitis B patients, in a large number of end-stage liver disease in liver transplant recipients are also required every year hundreds of thousands. In recent years, orthotopic liver transplantation Although end-stage liver disease as the best treatment options, but because of the shortage of donor liver and postoperative adverse events are more life-long need to take immunosuppressive drugs and high medical costs limit their clinical applications, in the clinical treatment has not been satisfactory progress.

Acute liver failure occurs when the short-term appeared in a sharp deterioration in liver function, leading to progressive altered mental status, coagulation dysfunction, infections, renal failure. In liver transplant technology to promote the former, their survival rate less than 15%, while the implementation of liver transplantation, one-year survival rate of nearly 80%. Liver failure is extremely high mortality syndrome, a serious liver disease. Like with liver cirrhosis, liver transplantation for treatment of advanced liver failure, although the most effective means, but because of medical ethics, transplant donor, transplant rejection, treatment costs and other constraints, it is difficult to carry out a wide range.

Stem cells bring new hope in recent years, molecular biology and cell bio-engineering technology, as well as in-depth understanding of stem cell research through stem cell transplantation for treatment of end-stage liver disease is becoming a hot research, which for end-stage liver diseases, in particular, is the terminal decompensated cirrhosis and acute liver failure treatment offers a new strategy.

A large number of clinical and preclinical studies have shown that directed differentiation of bone marrow stem cells have the proliferative capacity of the environment in the liver to be able to differentiate into liver cells, can participate in repair and reconstruction of the liver structure and improve liver function. For liver stem cell transplantation in the treatment of liver diseases can play an important role.

Studies have shown that the liver stem cells and regeneration requires the participation of cytokines. How to control stem cell differentiation and development, it differentiated into liver cells do? Experts believe that, depending on the survival of transplanted cells and the combined effects of micro-environment in which stem cells may play an important role in survival of micro-environment. From the current study, as long as the micro-environment for liver regeneration, stem cells can differentiate into hepatocytes in vivo.