Mathematical models and hepatology; oil and vinegar?

Abstract

Mathematical models are increasingly being used in medicine to study physiological, pathophysiological and therapeutic pathways [1–3]. In hepatology, mathematical abstractions have been beneficial to predict the viral load of hepatitis C following treatment [4], outcome after acetaminophen overdose [5], or to quantify porto-systemic shunting and inter-organ ammonia metabolism at different stages of cirrhosis [6]. However, in many medical fields (including hepatology), there is much resistance to include theoretical models in their traditional tool set and furthermore a lack of confidence in the generated theoretical results.