Progress in Hepatology 4 - Liver Cirrhosis Update includes the basic a nd clinical research on liver cirrhosis and its treatment as presented in the 4th Tadao Takahashi Memorial Forum held in Tokyo, Japan in 199 7. Liver cirrhosis is the final outcome of virtually all chronic live r diseases. The etiology differs markedly from country to country. F or example, in Japan (and probably most countries of East and Southeas t Asia) hepatitis B and C are the most common causes while in western countries it is alcohol. In this volume the focus is almost exclusive ly on those cases due to HBV and/or HCV. Articles are presented on mo lecular pathology; classification from a pathological perspective; ima ging diagnosis; endoscopic treatment and progress in bioartificial liv er support among others.
