Cutting-edge therapy is first to reverse liver damage caused by cirrhosis

• Liver injection in patients with cirrhosis has achieved preliminary results
• The treatment developed at the University of Edinburgh has been well received

British scientists have developed a treatment that could halt the progression of a fatal liver disease.

This cutting-edge therapy is the first to treat cirrhosis, the scarring of liver tissue caused by alcohol abuse, a high-fat diet and long-term infection with the hepatitis B and C viruses.

There are currently no drugs or treatments that can stop or reverse this process.

More than 10,000 people die from liver disease in the UK each year, with premature deaths rising to more than 60% in the past 20 years.

The treatment, developed at the University of Edinburgh, involves taking a blood sample from the patient and extracting white blood cells called monocytes. These infection-fighting cells typically survive in the blood for a few days before migrating to body tissues and turning into macrophages – cells capable of repairing damaged tissue.

The researchers used monocytes to mass-produce macrophages in the laboratory and then injected them into the patient’s liver.

Read more: Even people who don’t drink can develop liver disease

Experts believe that patients with severe cirrhosis produce fewer effective macrophages due to the damage caused by the disease. By making them outside the body, researchers hope the cells will be better able to repair scars and eventually reverse the condition.

Results presented last week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston showed that of 26 patients with cirrhosis who received the treatment, none showed significant worsening over the next year.

But of the other 24 cirrhosis patients who did not receive the new treatment, four had severe deterioration and three died.

Study leader Professor Stuart Forbes, a liver expert at the University of Edinburgh, said further testing was needed to confirm the drug could stop or reverse cirrhosis in humans, but in animals it did remove some scarring. “We are encouraged by the results,” Professor Forbes said.

Researcher Professor Jonathan Fallowfield, also from the University of Edinburgh, said: “Currently, there is little hope for these patients other than a liver transplant.”

A company called Resolution Therapeutics has been set up to develop the treatment, with larger trials planned in the UK in 2024.