Volume 87 - 2024 - Fasc.3 - Reviews
Statin therapy: improving survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and portal hypertension is possible?
Statins are generally known for their lipid-lowering properties
and protection against cardiovascular events. However, growing
evidence suggests that statins are a promising treatment for patients
with chronic liver disease. Specifically, there is data supporting their
role in reducing portal pressure and having a chemopreventive effect
on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Treatment options for HCC
remain limited with portal hypertension (PH), thus statins could
represent an inexpensive alternative, increasing survival of patients
with HCC and PH. These drugs cannot be considered standard of
care without a cardiac-metabolic indication to prescription in this
patient group, although the potential beneficial effect should be
indication for prompt use whenever considered appropriate. Our
aim is to review the effects of statins on PH and on HCC, both in the
pre-clinical and clinical setting in literature, discussing safety issues
and limitations to the current body of evidence.(
Regulatory, diagnostic, and therapeutic roles of microRNAs in chronic liver diseases
Fibrogenesis is initially performed during tissue damage
to protect the remaining tissues from the progressive death of
epithelial cells, infiltration of immune and inflammatory cells,
and local degrading enzymes. Inflammation can lead to excessive
extracellular matrix deposition by fibroblasts and the induction of
fibrosis in many organs, such as the liver. MiRNAs are small noncoding
RNAs that mediate mRNA repression or destabilization,
leading to translational repression. Owing to the wide range of
roles of miRNAs in the development of fibrosis, especially liver
fibrosis, many studies have focused on their diagnostic, regulatory,
and therapeutic roles. In this study, we used medical science and
general databases, including PubMed, Elsevier, Scopus, Nature,
and Google Scholar, to find valid studies on the different roles of
miRNAs in liver fibrosis. Because a large number of miRNAs with
regulatory, diagnostic, and therapeutic roles in diseases associated
with liver fibrosis have been identified and reported in this study,
special attention to these elements is needed in the future of
healthcare systems.
