Abstract
A wide variety of immunosuppressants and immunomodulators have been used to treat autoimmune hepatitis. Prednisone or prednisolone, alone or in combination with azathioprine is the treatment mainstay, limited mostly by the development of drug toxicity. In that regard, combination therapy is associated with fewer side effects than prednisone monotherapy (10 versus 44%). In approximately 10% of the cases treatment with prednisone/azathioprine will fail and use of alternative therapy will be necessary. This chapter will review the most common side effects of these drugs used in the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis followed by a discussion regarding associated autoimmune diseases.
