Liver disease

Liver disease (also called hepatic disease) is a broad term describing any single number of diseases affecting the liver.

Diseases

• Hepatitis, inflammation of the liver, caused mainly by various viruses but also by some poisons (e.g. alcohol), autoimmunity (autoimmune hepatitis) or hereditary conditions. Diagnosis is done by checking levels of alanine transaminase
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a spectrum in disease, associated with obesity and characterized as an abundance of fat in the liver; may lead to a hepatitis, i.e. steatohepatitis and/or cirrhosis.
• Cirrhosis is the formation of fibrous tissue in the liver from replacing dead liver cells. The death of the liver cells can be caused by viral hepatitis, alcoholism or contact with other liver-toxic chemicals. Diagnosis is done by checking levels of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase (SGOT).
• Haemochromatosis, a hereditary disease causing the accumulation of iron in the body, eventually leading to liver damage.
• Cancer of the liver (primary hepatocellular carcinoma or cholangiocarcinoma and metastatic cancers, usually from other parts of the gastrointestinal tract).
• Wilson's disease, a hereditary disease which causes the body to retain copper.
• Primary sclerosing cholangitis, an inflammatory disease of the bile duct, likely autoimmune in nature.
• Primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune disease of small bile ducts.
• Budd-Chiari syndrome, obstruction of the hepatic vein.
• Gilbert's syndrome, a genetic disorder of bilirubin metabolism, found in about 5% of the population.
• Glycogen storage disease type II, the build-up of glycogen causes progressive muscle weakness (myopathy) throughout the body and affects various body tissues, particularly in the heart, skeletal muscles, liver and nervous system.

There are also many pediatric liver disease, including biliary atresia, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, alagille syndrome, and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, to name but a few.

Diagnostic

Symptoms of a diseased liver

The symptoms related to liver dysfunction include both physical signs and a variety of symptoms related to digestive problems, blood sugar problems, immune disorders, abnormal absorption of fats, and metabolism problems.

The malabsorption of fats may lead to symptoms that include indigestion, reflux, deficit of fatsoluble vitamins, hemorrhoids, gall stones, intolerance to fatty foods, intolerance to alcohol, nausea and vomiting attacks, abdominal bloating, and constipation.

Nervous system disorders include depression, mood changes, especially anger and irritability, poor concentration and "foggy brain", overheating of the body, especially the face and torso, and recurrent headaches (including migraine) associated with nausea.

The blood sugar problems include a craving for sugar, hypoglycaemia and unstable blood sugar levels, and the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Abnormalities in the level of fats in the blood stream, whether too high or too low levels of lipids in the organism. Hypercholesterolemia: elevated LDL cholesterol, reduced HDL cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, clogged arteries leading to high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, build up of fat in other body organs (fatty degeneration of organs), lumps of fat in the skin (lipomas and other fatty tumors), excessive weight gain (which may lead to obesity), inability to lose weight even while dieting, sluggish metabolism, protuberant abdomen (pot belly), cellulite, fatty liver, and a roll of fat around the upper abdomen (liver roll) etc. Or too low levels of lipids: hypocholesterolemia: low total cholesterol, low LDL and VLDL cholesterol, low triglyderides.

Liver function tests

A number of liver function tests are available to test the proper function of the liver. These test for the presence of enzymes in blood that are normally most abundant in liver tissue, metabolites or products. LFT's , serum proteins, serum albumin, serum globulin, A/G Ratio, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, platelet count.

Treatment of liver diseases

The only real treatment for chronic liver disease at present is a liver transplant. However, there are some promising drugs currently being tested such as sulfasalazine which have the potential to aid regeneration by blocking special proteins that stop liver regeneration. This can enable the liver to partially or totally regenerate. Unfortunately at present, this drug is not being used as it is in clinical trials. Other treatments involve using stem cells that could be injected into the patient's damaged liver and regenerate the organ, but this is in its infancy as well.

References