role of interleukin -I inhibitors in patients with bilharzial hepatic fibrosis

ABSTRACT

This work was designed to assess the partial reversibility of hepatic fibrosis in human after the use of colchicine through its immunomodulation mechanism. Twenty patients were given colchicine at a dose of 0.5 mg twice daily, five days a week for a period of nine months. Patients were assessed before and after therapy by clinical evaluation, parasitological assessment, abdominal ultrasonographic scanning and estimation of serum interleukin-1B. Colchicine was proved to be of value as an antifibrotic agent when used in early cases of schistosomal hepatic fibrosis [grades I and II]] as evidenced by a decrease in liver size and significant reduction in IL-1B level among all patients. Also, estimation of serum IL-1B can be used as a noninvasive, relatively sensitive parameter to assess the fibrinogenic process in the liver and to evaluate the effect of drug therapy