[Treatment of liver fibrosis]

Liver fibrosis is the progressive deposition of extracellular matrix in the liver parenchyma that precedes the development of cirrhosis. In the last few years, knowledge of the cellular and molecular bases of liver fibrosis has increased considerably. Environmental and genetic factors have been described that influence the progression of liver fibrosis, while non-invasive methods have been developed that allow the grade of fibrosis to be estimated without the need for liver biopsy. Currently, the only clearly effective treatment to attenuate or reverse liver fibrosis is elimination of the causative agent. When this is not feasible, fibrogenic factors (such as insulin resistance, obesity, alcohol intake, cannabis consumption, etc.) should be identified and treated. However, several agents are able to reduce liver fibrosis in experimental models of chronic liver damage. Few controlled clinical trials have been performed that evaluate the efficacy and safety of these agents and consequently the level of evidence supporting their use as anti-fibrogenic therapy is still low. The efficacy of the anti- fibrogenic drugs, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, is currently being evaluated.