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World J Hepatol. Jun 27, 2014; 6(6): 410-418
Published online Jun 27, 2014. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v6.i6.410
Management of autoimmune hepatitis: Focus on pharmacologic treatments beyond corticosteroids
Marta Casal Moura, Rodrigo Liberal, Hélder Cardoso, Ana Maria Horta e Vale, Guilherme Macedo
Marta Casal Moura, Serviço de Medicina Interna, Centro Hospitalar de São João, E.P.E., Porto 4200-319, Portugal
Marta Casal Moura, Rodrigo Liberal, Hélder Cardoso, Ana Maria Horta e Vale, Guilherme Macedo, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Hernâni Monteiro, Porto 4200-319, Portugal
Rodrigo Liberal, Paediatric Liver Centre and Institute of Liver Studies, King’s College London School of Medicine at King’s College Hospital, London SE5 9RS, United Kingdom
Hélder Cardoso, Ana Maria Horta e Vale, Guilherme Macedo, Serviço de Gastrenterologia, Centro Hospitalar de São João, E.P.E., Porto 4202-451, Portugal
Author contributions: Casal Moura M and Liberal R design and performed the research; Casal Moura M and Liberal R wrote the paper; Cardoso H, Horta e Vale AM and Macedo G reviewed the paper.
Correspondence to: Marta Casal Moura, MD, Alameda Professor, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Hernâni Monteiro, Porto 4200-319, Portugal. martacasalmoura@gmail.com
Telephone: +3-51-225512100 Fax: +3-51-22502576
Received: November 5, 2013
Revised: April 19, 2014
Accepted: May 8, 2014
Published online: June 27, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: With our review we pretend to describe the non-standard pharmacologic treatments available for autoimmune hepatitis, the indications for its use and the main applications. Also, we pretend to enhance that those alternatives are only available guided by the experience in liver transplant patients and should be only used by experienced centers. The difficult-to-treat patients lead to the application of those therapies mainly as salvage treatments.