Shamsi Baghbanan Hamid, Nazem Esmaeil, Yarjoo Saeideh, Minaei Bagher
School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
School of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2014 Jul;16(7):e16548. doi: 10.5812/ircmj.16548. Epub 2014 Jul 5.
There are several disorders that cause hepatic cirrhosis. However, if there is no known cause for cirrhosis, it is called cryptogenic cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is believed to be irreversible in its late stages. In these cases, liver transplantation is the only solution.
The study case was a 29-year-old man, admitted to the hospital four years ago due to esophageal variceal hemorrhage. A biopsy of his liver showed cryptogenic cirrhosis; thus, he was a candidate for liver transplant. The patient visited the outpatient Iranian traditional medicine center, Behesht Clinic, in Tehran, Iran, two years after his bleeding course and began treatment with traditional herbal medicine. In the following month, he stopped taking his previous medications. During the 18-month follow up, he was visited 16 times. During this time, his general health improved and his hemoglobin level increased. Based on the ultrasound reports, the spleen size, the gallbladder wall edema, and the portal vein diameter decreased. Even though the ascites disappeared, the patient gained weight. His model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score reduced from 10 (prior to the Iranian traditional medicine treatment) to 8. The bilirubin level decreased as well. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels increased and the serum albumin level and platelet count decreased.
In this patient, traditional medicine treatment improved the patient's general well-being, hematopoiesis and portal hypertension. Furthermore, it improved his quality of life, although it had no effect on his liver function. We recommend more clinical trials on therapeutic effects of Iranian traditional medicine on cryptogenic cirrhosis.
有多种疾病可导致肝硬化。然而,如果肝硬化的病因不明,则称为隐源性肝硬化。肝硬化在晚期被认为是不可逆的。在这些情况下,肝移植是唯一的解决办法。
该研究病例为一名29岁男性,四年前因食管静脉曲张破裂出血入院。肝脏活检显示为隐源性肝硬化,因此他是肝移植的候选人。在出血病程两年后,该患者前往伊朗德黑兰的贝赫什特诊所这一门诊伊朗传统医学中心就诊,并开始接受传统草药治疗。在接下来的一个月里,他停止服用之前的药物。在18个月的随访期间,他接受了16次问诊。在此期间,他的总体健康状况有所改善,血红蛋白水平有所提高。根据超声报告,脾脏大小、胆囊壁水肿程度和门静脉直径均减小。尽管腹水消失了,但患者体重增加。他的终末期肝病模型(MELD)评分从(接受伊朗传统医学治疗前的)10分降至8分;胆红素水平也有所下降。丙氨酸转氨酶(ALT)和天冬氨酸转氨酶(AST)水平升高,血清白蛋白水平和血小板计数下降。
在该患者中,传统医学治疗改善了患者的总体健康状况、造血功能和门静脉高压。此外,尽管对其肝功能没有影响,但改善了他的生活质量。我们建议针对伊朗传统医学对隐源性肝硬化的治疗效果开展更多临床试验。