[Therapy of chronic hepatitis (author's transl)]

Therapy of chronic hepatitis as practized today is discussed, including general therapeutic procedures, the so-called "liver-protective substances", and drug therapy of chronic aggressive hepatitis and of liver cirrhosis. A causal treatment of chronic hepatitis is unknown; prognosis however can be improved by treatment with glucocorticoids as demonstrated by controlled clinical trials. A combination with azathioprin does have similarly good results with a decreased frequency of the unwanted side effects of the 2 drugs. The effects of other immunosuppressive drugs and of D-penicillamin cannot yet be evaluated sufficiently at present.