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Repurposing Pentoxifylline for the Treatment of Fibrosis: An Overview

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Abstract

Fibrosis is a potentially debilitating disease with high morbidity rates. It is estimated that half of all deaths that occur in the USA are attributed to fibrotic disorders. Fibrotic disorders are characterized primarily by disruption in the extracellular matrix deposition and breakdown equilibrium, leading to the accumulation of excessive amounts of extracellular matrix. Given the potentially high prevalence of fibrosis and the paucity of agents currently available for the treatment of this disease, there is an urgent need for the identification of drugs that can be utilized to treat the disease. Pentoxifylline is a methylxanthine derivative that is currently approved for the treatment of vascular diseases, in particular, claudication. Pentoxifylline has three main properties: improving the rheological properties of blood, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidative. Recently, the effectiveness of pentoxifylline in the treatment of fibrosis via attenuating and reversing fibrotic lesions has been demonstrated in several clinical trials and animal studies. As a result of the limited availability of antifibrotic agents in the long-term treatment of fibrosis that can attenuate and even reverse fibrotic lesions effectively, it would be of particular importance to consider the potential clinical utility of pentoxifylline in the treatment of fibrosis. Thus, this paper discusses the evolving roles of pentoxifylline in the treatment of different types of fibrosis.

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Acknowledgements

No funding or sponsorship was received for this study or publication of this article. All named authors meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship of this manuscript, take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, and have given final approval to the version to be published.

Disclosures

Wei Xiong Wen, Siang Yin Lee, Rafaella Siang, and Rhun Yian Koh have nothing to disclose.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

This article is based on previously conducted studies and does not involve any new studies of human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Medical University, No. 126, Jalan Jalil Perkasa 19, Bukit Jalil, 57000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Wei Xiong Wen, Rafaella Siang & Rhun Yian Koh

  2. Colloids and Interface Science Centre, Centre of Excellence, RRIM Sungai Buloh Research Station, Malaysian Rubber Board, 47000, Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia

    Siang Yin Lee

  3. Acute Medicine, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, College St, Nuneaton, UK

    Rafaella Siang

Authors
  1. Wei Xiong Wen
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  2. Siang Yin Lee
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  3. Rafaella Siang
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  4. Rhun Yian Koh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rhun Yian Koh.

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Wen, W.X., Lee, S.Y., Siang, R. et al. Repurposing Pentoxifylline for the Treatment of Fibrosis: An Overview. Adv Ther 34, 1245–1269 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-017-0547-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-017-0547-2

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