Biliary Cirrhosis
Primary biliary cirrhosis is a disease that slowly destroys the liver’s bile ducts. Bile is a substance produced in the liver that helps digest fat in the small intestine and remove toxins from the body. When the ducts are damaged, bile builds up in the liver and damages liver tissue. Biliary cirrhosis can develop over […]
Autoimmune Hepatitis
What is autoimmune hepatitis? Autoimmune hepatitis is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks liver cells. This immune response causes inflammation of the liver, also called hepatitis. Researchers think a genetic factor may make some people more susceptible to autoimmune diseases. About 70 percent of those with autoimmune hepatitis are female. The disease […]
Jaundice
What is Jaundice? Jaundice is not an illness, but a medical condition in which too much bilirubin – a compound produced by the breakdown of hemoglobin from red blood cells – is circulating in the blood. This excess of bilirubin causes the skin, eyes, and the mucus membranes (inside of the mouth) to turn a […]
Hemochromatosis
What is hemochromatosis? Hemochromatosis is one of the most common genetic disorders in the United States. It is an inherited condition in which the body absorbs and stores too much iron. The extra iron builds up in several organs, especially the liver, and can cause serious damage. Without treatment, the disease can cause these organs […]
Liver Cancer
What is liver cancer? Liver cancer refers to the growth of malignant tumors in liver tissue. Cancer that starts in the liver is called primary liver cancer. Cancer that spreads to the liver from another organ is called metastatic liver cancer. What are the symptoms of liver cancer? Often there are no symptoms of liver cancer until the later […]
Fatty Liver
What is Fatty Liver? Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) describes a range of conditions involving the liver that affect people who drink little or no alcohol. The mildest type is simple fatty liver (steatosis), an accumulation of fat within your liver that usually causes no liver damage. A potentially more serious type, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), […]
Cirrhosis
The liver, the largest organ in the body, is essential in keeping the body functioning properly. It removes or neutralizes poisons from the blood, produces immune agents to control infection, and removes germs and bacteria from the blood. It makes proteins that regulate blood clotting and produces bile to help absorb fats and fat-soluble vitamins. […]
Alcoholic Liver Disease
What is the liver’s role in processing alcohol? The liver breaks down alcohol so it can be eliminated from your body. If you consume more alcohol than the liver can process, the resulting imbalance can injure the liver by interfering with its normal breakdown of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. What are the types of alcohol-induced liver disease? […]
Hepatitis A, B or C
What is Hepatitis A? Hepatitis A is the most common of the seven known types of viral hepatitis. Infection with the hepatitis A virus leads to inflammation of the liver, but complications are rarely serious. How Hepatitis A is spread? The hepatitis A virus (HAV) is found in the faeces of someone infected with the […]