Treatment of liver fibrosis: Past, current, and future

Core Tip

Core Tip: Liver fibrosis accompanies the progression of chronic liver diseases independent of their etiologies. The initiation and progression of liver fibrosis are mainly driven by liver inflammation, cell death, and metabolic dysregulation, which cause the activation of hepatic stellate cells and excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins. Without effective treatments, liver fibrosis can lead to cirrhosis and primary liver cancer. To date, current therapeutic options for liver fibrosis are limited to prevent the initial causing factors for liver inflammation, hepatocyte cell death, and oxidative stress. However, the reverse of liver fibrosis is slowly and frequently impossible for advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. To avoid the life-threatening stage of liver fibrosis, anti-fibrotic treatments including biological, medicines, dietary change, and behavior prevention are needed, especially for combined therapy.