Is liver fibrosis the same as Peyronie's fibrosis?

[basebend]

I ask because I have come across a number of different studies testing an herb or supplement that had an anti-fibrotic effect on liver fibrosis and it led me to wonder if the same effect would be had on penile fibrosis/plaque. Any doctors here?

Knowing whether or not the fibrosis is related could open new possibilities to test them on my peyronie's.

[skunkworks]

I personally think so, especially when you read up on myofibroblasts.

[NeoV]

Definitely worth looking into and I always find myself reading studies on that as well.

[welshwales]

From what I've read and personal experience I believe that that many fibrotic conditions are directly related to one another. There is a great deal of evidence linking Dupterans, Plantar Faciitis and Peyronie's. It isn't a great leap of logic to connect these conditions with other forms of fibrosis. I have Peyronies Disease and plantar faciitis, as well as multiple fibrotic masses in finger joints of my left hand which have required surgery, and also a fibrotic mass on the epydidimis (a testicular tube). I know that quite a few other forum members also have multiple problems involving fibrotic masses where they don't belong.

[Skjaldborg]

The difference is in the types of tissue and the blood supply it has. Liver tissue is very good at regeneration and has an excellent blood supply. The tunica albuginea, the tissue affected by Peyronie's, does not regenerate as well as liver cells and has a poor blood supply. Note that while the penis is well vascularized, the tunica is not. Pentox is used for liver fibrosis, which is probably why it has some effect on Peyronie's (probably blocking tgf-beta, a chemical involved in fibrosis throughout the body) but it cannot cure Peyronie's due to the type of tissue affected.

-Skjald

[skunkworks]

There may be more to it than that.

These Myofibroblast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia are essentially what causes permanent fibrosis as they secrete a protein which prevents the fibrosis from being broken down. When the myofibroblasts fail to undergo apoptosis (die) as they should then you are stuck with the fibrosis. Myofibroblasts : Mechanisms of fibrosis: therapeutic translation for fibrotic disease : Nature Medicine : Nature Publishing Group  "Pathways that elicit and recruit high numbers of myofibroblasts and those that engender resistance to apoptosis are active areas of fibrosis research"

Pentox decreases these Pentoxifylline Attenuated the Renal Disease Progression in Rats with Remnant Kidney

Myofibroblasts are found in smooth muscle, which make up a good percentage of the tunica albuginea.

Sulfasalazine stops myofibroblasts secreting the protein that prevents fibrosis from breaking down and also increases the rate at which activated hepatic stellate cells undergo apoptosis.

[NeoV]

Thanks for the info guys, interesting skunkworks..

Why I'm not taking pentox is beyond me, need to get a year supply as soon as possible to Tokyo.