Liver volume assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) decreased by 4.9% with octreotide

and increased by 0.9% with placebo.5 These results are in line with a post-hoc analysis of a crossover study that treated 12 ADPKD patients with polycystic livers for 6 months with long-acting octreotide LAR 40 mg each month. Liver volume decreased by 4.4% during octreotide administration, whereas it increased by 1.2% with placebo.6 The volume-reducing effect of octreotide is not dependent on its formulation. Short-acting octreotide administered at a dose of 100 μg three times daily subcutaneously AG-014699 price for 70-180 days in eight patients (seven ADPKD; one PCLD) resulted in a median reduction of liver volume by 3.0%55 (Fig. 5). The randomized clinical studies documented that the beneficial effect of somatostatin analogs was associated with improved general health perception.4, 5 Somatostatin analogs are well tolerated. Side effects such as diarrhea and abdominal

cramps occur after the first injections but disappear after prolonged use. Another medical option that has gained popularity are mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors. This class of drugs has strong antiproliferative effects MK-8669 nmr and has become an integral part of immunosuppressive therapy after solid organ transplantation.56 mTOR is upregulated in animal models of polycystic medchemexpress kidney disease and inhibition slows disease progression.57, 58 In a trial with 16 ADPKD patients who had polycystic livers after renal transplantation the mTOR inhibitor sirolimus reduced liver volume by 11.9% when given for an average of 19.4 months, whereas tacrolimus caused an increase of 14.2%.19 There are still many outstanding questions. It is unknown why some patients respond well, whereas others do not, but it appears that larger livers respond better to treatment than smaller livers.4 The most important issue is whether the beneficial effect is maintained with prolonged

therapy. Answers might come from ongoing trials that evaluate the effect of a 3-year treatment.6 Finally, whereas somatostatin analogs are well tolerated, the side-effect profile is less acceptable with mTOR inhibitors.59, 60 PLD is a progressive disease, and a substantial minority of patients will develop severe symptoms. Invasive procedures may provide relief through liver volume reduction in selected cases. Apart from liver transplantation, none of the currently available options have been shown to change the natural course of the disease. In addition, there is no consensus on the optimal timing or optimal procedure to be carried out. Although all procedures listed here are technically feasible, they do carry the risk of considerable morbidity, and potential benefits should be weighed carefully against the drawbacks of the individual procedures.