Progress in etiological treatment of non-viral severe liver diseases

Severe liver diseases have various etiology. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are commonly seen in China. However, alcoholic liver disease, autoimmune liver disease (ALD) and other non-viral severe liver diseases have shown an upward trend in recent years. There are no special therapeutical methods for severe alcoholic liver disease so far, glucocorticoids and pentoxifylline are mainly used for etiological treatment. The autoimmune liver disease is still one of the remarkable problems in the filed of liver diseases; at present, immunosuppressive agents and corticosteroids are routinely used for this liver disease, study on transduction pathway of biological agents interfering signals is expected to be a new therapy for ALD. The Wilson’s disease is treated by administrating in a staggered manner or alternate manner to avoid the overlap of adverse reactions, while cell transplantation therapy and gene therapy will be the direction of future research. In conclusion, effective therapy should be given with reference to detailed condition, so as to improve survival rate in patients with severe liver diseases. Key words: Severe liver diseases; Etiological treatment; Alcoholic liver disease; Hepatitis, autoimmune; Wilson’s disease