Chronic liver disease and oxidative stress - a narrative review

Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Jun 26. doi: 10.1080/17474124.2021.1949289. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTOxidative stress underlies the pathophysiology of various etiologies of chronic liver disease and contributes to the development of hepatocarcinogenesis.Areas covered: This review focuses on the impact of oxidative stress in various etiologies of chronic liver disease such as alcoholic liver disease (ALD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The efficacy of antioxidants in laboratory, animal and clinical studies in chronic liver disease is also reviewed.Expert opinion: Currently, there are limited targeted pharmacotherapeutics for NASH and no pharmacotherapeutics for ALD and antioxidant supplementation may be useful in these conditions to improve liver function and reverse fibrosis. Antioxidants may also be used in patients with HBV or HCV infection to supplement antiviral therapies. Specific genotypes of antioxidant and prooxidant genes render patients more susceptible to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma while other individual characteristics like age, genotype and metabolomic profiling can influence the efficacy of antioxidants on CLD. More research needs to be done to establish the safety, efficacy and dosage of antioxidants and to establish the ideal patient profile that will benefit the most from antioxidant treatment.PMID:34176419 | DOI:10.1080/17474124.2021.1949289

Source: Expert Review of Gastroenterology and Hepatology - June 28, 2021 Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Sophia Seen Source Type: research