Hypertension drug looks promising in treating liver disease – details inside

New York: A drug used to lower blood pressure in the venous system and inflammation could effectively treat life-threatening liver disease, researchers said, including one of Indian origin.

The study on mice showed that the drug sivelestat could reduce portal hypertension, badociated with cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, thus improving the symptoms and its course. Portal hypertension is a condition characterized by an increase in pressure in the portal vein that carries blood from the abdominal organs to the liver.

Although there are treatments to treat some forms of liver diseases, including hepatitis C and autoimmune hepatitis, the options for treating portal hypertension have been limited.

"Sivelestat has been safely used in humans with acute lung injury and bronchopulmonary dysplasia, suggesting that Sivelestat and similar drugs are a potential way to reduce portal hypertension in patients with severe pulmonary artery disease." chronic liver disease, "said Vijay Shah, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic.

The study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, showed deposits of a protein causing the formation of blood clots contributing to portal hypertension. Fibrin was formed by inflammatory cells known as neutrophils, which, slowed down by the sivelestat, could reduce portal hypertension.

"The study paves the way for the development of new drugs and the reuse of existing compounds to combat liver inflammation caused by mechanical forces related to the disease," said Moira Hilscher, researcher at the university. Although the study was obtained from mouse models, it was also confirmed in liver samples taken from humans.