for most situations, the treatment is "supportive." That is,
maximizing the opportunity for the liver to recover to the extent that
it can. This means removing the source of the problem, when possible,
as well as avoiding other things which could add to the inflammation:
no alcohol, eliminating drugs when possible. The liver has the ability
to heal itself to a large extent, but there really isn't much in the
way of direct "treatment," except for certain conditions where
moderating the immune response can help (when the inflammation is
thought due to the body's immune system attacking the liver). This
means taking immunosuppressing drugs (drugs which slow the immune
response) such as cortisone-like medications. In the case of hepatitis
C, which is inflammation due to a particular virus, a protein called
interferon has been tried -- it limits the ability of the virus to
attack the cells, among other things. But in general, the approach is
to "rest" the liver by eliminating things that irritate it, and to
provide other support, such as IV fluids, when the person is ill
enough not to be able to take them himself. Diet might be modified as
well, depending how inflamed the liver is: when it's out of whack
enough, protein digestion products can build up in the blood and cause
problems, so feedings are modified, whether oral or IV (into the vein)
to contain low levels of various proteins and protein building-blocks. |
