Is cirrhosis of the liver curable?

Introduction

Liver cirrhosis is an irreversible change in liver tissue caused by chronic liver diseases such as inflammation, fat and iron deposits or alcohol damage. Chronic liver diseases can in principle lead to reversible damage to liver cells. Fatty liver is also one of the structural changes in liver tissue, but these can be reduced and cured if the triggering causes, for example alcohol abuse, are eliminated.

In the further course of the disease, however, the liver can convert into connective tissue and thus be irreversibly damaged, which is known as cirrhosis of the liver. This can be accompanied by numerous accompanying symptoms and secondary diseases, which can be observed in the course of the disease based on clinical symptoms and laboratory values. The sequelae of liver cirrhosis can nowadays be controlled symptomatically, so that there is no significant limitation of the prognosis in the early stages. However, drug-based causal treatments are still not available for advanced liver function impairment.

Is cirrhosis of the liver curable?

In principle, a cirrhotic change in the liver structure is not reversible and therefore not curable. Nevertheless, the causal and symptomatic treatment of liver cirrhosis must be considered in a differentiated way depending on the individual stage and the accompanying circumstances. Cirrhosis of the liver is often based on a chronic liver disease that drives the connective tissue remodelling of liver cells.

Before the development of liver cirrhosis, the tissue often changes in the form of liver swelling, fatty liver or chronic inflammation. Here, too, damage to the liver tissue occurs, but this can be cured by treating the underlying disease. Treatment can include abstinence from alcohol or consistent treatment of inflammation of the liver.

Especially in early stages of liver cirrhosis, the functions of the damaged parts of the liver can be sufficiently compensated by the remaining liver tissue. Only when a large part of the organ is irreversibly damaged do noticeable symptoms, changes in blood values and secondary diseases of other organs appear. If the cause is treated causally at an early stage, the cirrhotic transformation of the liver can be slowed down or even halted so that the affected patients can live as far as possible without symptoms.

However, a causal therapy with a regression of the cirrhotic tissue into healthy liver cells is not possible. In the late stages of liver cirrhosis, the only treatment for cure is a liver transplant. However, this depends on various factors such as a sufficient physical condition, abstinence from alcohol, age, and place on a transplant list.