The liver is a large organ with many vital functions, including fat and sugar metabolism, vitamin processing and storage, deactivation of medicines and detoxification of harmful substances. Problems in the liver commonly arise because of infection and inflammation, which may cause liver scarring. Liver scarring predisposes patients to the development of potentially life-threatening liver cancer. Treatment for liver problems focuses on preserving liver function.
Viral Hepatitis
Several viruses can infect the liver, causing short- or long-term inflammation and damage. Hepatitis A is a food-borne virus which most commonly affects children. Infection may be asymptomatic or cause a limited episode of liver inflammation, or hepatitis. Hepatitis A does not cause chronic liver disease, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hepatitis B and C are blood-borne viruses that are transmitted by contact with infected blood or other bodily fluids. Hepatitis B is often transmitted sexually. The virus also commonly passes from an infected mother to her child around the time of birth. Hepatitis C infections frequently occur due to exposure to infected blood through shared intravenous drug paraphernalia. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases notes that both hepatitis B and hepatitis C can cause chronic liver disease.
Viruses other than hepatitis A, B and C can also cause liver inflammation, although these infections prove less common. Other viruses that may cause hepatitis include hepatitis D, hepatitis E, parvovirus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, herpes simplex and Epstein-Barr virus.
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
The production of bile is one of the principal functions of the liver. Liver cells produce bile and secrete it into a branching circuit of vessels called the biliary ducts, which come together and empty into the gallbladder. In an electronic article published by the American College of Gastroenterology, Drs. Marvin Lopez and Young-Mee Lee explain that primary sclerosing cholangitis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the bile ducts. Protracted inflammation provokes bile duct scarring and destruction. The resulting buildup of bile, in turn, causes liver inflammation and scarring.
Lopez and Lee note that males are more commonly afflicted with primary sclerosing cholangitis than are females. Most patients with the disorder also have ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. People with primary sclerosing cholangitis frequently have no disease-related symptoms until extensive liver scarring progresses to cirrhosis.
Liver Cancer
The American Cancer Society estimates the occurrence of approximately 24,100 new cases of liver cancer in the United States in 2010, with roughly 70 percent occurring in men. Liver cancer most often arises from liver cells, or hepatocytes. Less commonly, liver cancer may develop in the bile ducts.
Most cases of liver cancer occur in people with preexisting liver disease that has led to cirrhosis. The National Cancer Institute reports that risk factors for the development of liver cancer include chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, iron overload and diabetes mellitus.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Hepatitis A Information for Health Professionals
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Viral Hepatitis: A through E and Beyond
- American College of Gastroenterology: Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
- American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2010
