Table 4.
Potential anti-fibrotic therapies with “general” effects
| Agent | Disease | Efficacy | Safety | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interleukin-10 | HCV | ++ | + | Increased viral load |
| Malotilate | ETOH | − | +++ | |
| PPC | ETOH | − | ++++ | |
| Propylthiouracil | ETOH | − | ++ | |
| SAM | ETOH | + | +++ | |
| Anti-TNFα compounds | ETOH | ++ | + | Clearly anti-inflammatory |
| Ursodeoxycholic acid | Multiple | + | ++++ | Most studied in PBC |
| Vitamin E | HCV/NASH | - | ++++ |
The scale for efficacy and safety is - to ++++ with - being the lowest rating and ++++ the highest rating. The ratings are empiric based on the aggregate available literature. See text for references and discussion of mechanisms.
Abbreviations: PPC = Polyenylphosphatidylcholine; SAM = s-adenosylmethionine, TNF = tumor necrosis factor; ETOH = alcohol, HCV = hepatitis C virus, NASH = non alcoholic steatohepatitis, misc = miscellaneous, PBC = primary biliary cirrhosis.