Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, Part 1: Epidemiology, Etiopathogenesis, Clinical Features, and Treatment.

ABSTRACT: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic, idiopathic cholangiopathy that can progress to cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, hepatobiliary cancer, and/or colorectal cancer. The course of PSC is often complicated by portal hypertension, symptoms of cholestasis, and recurrent bacterial cholangitis, among other conditions, with a consequent decrease in survival (median, approximately 20 years) and quality of life. The etiopathogenesis of PSC remains poorly understood, and, as such, pharmacotherapy has yet to be definitively established. Despite its rarity, PSC is the fifth leading indication for liver transplantation (LT) in the United States. Although the only intervention known to extend survival of patients with PSC, LT is costly and invasive, and recurrent PSC affects approximate

SUBMITTER: Tabibian JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6034608 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature