[Indications and therapeutic possibilities of albumin dialysis (MARS)]

Despite remarkable medical advances during the last few years, liver failure--both acute and chronic--still results in high mortality. Since liver transplant programs were developed to improve survival in numerous hepatic end-stage disorders, fewer than 15% of patients with liver failure do actually receive a transplantation, be it because of the presence of procedural contraindications (toxic habits, age, concurrent disease), or of clinical conditions that may render surgery more difficult or worsen transplant prognosis. All these circumstances encouraged the development of alternative procedures to increase liver graft availability, as is the case of liver partition techniques and living-donor transplantation. On the other hand, organ scarcity for transplantation during the 1960s encouraged the parallel development of liver support systems in an attempt to reduce mortality and to improve patient survival while waiting for a transplant. Such systems attempt to replace a number of synthesis and detoxification functions for the damaged liver parenchyma. During the past few years both bioartificial systems--also referred to as "bioartificial livers"--based on bioreactors containing functionally active living hepatocytes, and extracorporeal liver detoxification systems have been developed. The latter type includes the so-called MARS (molecular adsorbent recirculating system) system, which combines albumin-bound molecule clearance and novel dialysis membrane biocompatibility.