Diseases that affect your liver can also change how your body responds to different medications. Gilbert's syndrome is a genetic problem with the liver that can cause problems if you take certain medications, but it does not appear to interact...
Infectious mononucleosis, commonly abbreviated as just "mono," is a viral illness caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. It is one of the most common viral illnesses in humans. One of the effects of this infection is liver inflammation. This can be...
Most people who have gallstones don't even know it, according to U.S. News & World Report. These small pebble-like stones form in your gallbladder when there is an imbalance in the substances that make up bile. If you have gallstones, you...
A Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, or CMP, is a group of 12 to 20 blood tests used to screen for a wide variety of medical disorders. The presence or absence of liver, kidney or other diseases may be determined based on the pattern of results....
Gallbladder problems that affect young people include birth defects, inflammation, infection, obstruction, gallstones or blockages. If you have gallbladder problems, you may experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, pain in the upper right...
People with jaundice have a yellow color in the white part of their eyes and a yellowish skin color. This comes from having high levels of bilirubin in the bloodstream. In obstructive jaundice, there are high bilirubin levels because the bile flow...
Some infants are afflicted with a condition known a neonatal jaundice, which is the result of the newly formed liver not being completely functional. This leads to the buildup of a protein called bilirubin in the blood, which turns the skin and...
Eighty percent of gallstones are caused by hypercholesterolemia, or high cholesterol levels in the bile, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Cholecystitis, or inflammation of the gallbladder, is...
The gallbladder is a small pear shaped organ located just below the liver in the upper right part of the abdomen. The liver makes bile that is stored in the gallbladder until the body needs it. The gallbladder secrets bile into the small...
The liver is the largest organ within the human body, and it has many functions. It removes toxins, stores iron and makes bile, plasma proteins and clotting factors. The two kidneys make vitamin D and the erythropoietin hormone, eliminate waste,...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 112,000 hospital cases in the U.S. in 2005 alone that had the diagnosis of either cirrhosis or chronic liver disease. In 2006, cirrhosis was responsible for 27,555 U.S....
Gilbert's syndrome is a common genetic disorder that can cause jaundice, a condition in which the high amount of bilirubin in the bloodstream makes the eyes and skin have a yellowish color. The jaundice will not usually lead to any problems. It...
Your liver makes a substance called bile and sends it to your gallbladder, where it is stored and concentrated. The gallbladder releases bile whenever you need to break up fats. If the bile has too much cholesterol, that liquid bile will become...
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited condition that causes red blood cells (erythrocytes) to "sickle," or become C-shaped. This disease affects all major organs and body systems because they all rely on the blood to deliver essential nutrients and...
Hyperbilirubinemia refers to elevated bilirubin levels in the blood plasma. Bilirubin comes in two forms, water-soluble and water-insoluble. Water-soluble bilirubin is called conjugated bilirubin, and water-insoluble bilirubin is called...
Calcium is needed in your bloodstream to support several vital body functions. If your levels of blood calcium fall too low, you can develop a condition called hypocalcemia. A substantial percentage of your blood calcium is attached to a protein...
Liver function tests (LFT) are blood tests that measure enzyme and protein levels in your blood. Abnormal results on LFT indicate that there's a problem affecting your liver, a situation that warrants further investigation. Liver function is...
Albumin is a protein in your bloodstream that supports your everyday health in several important ways. If you develop a condition called inflammation, you can experience a significant drop in your body's albumin levels. In turn, this drop can lead...
The urine dipstick test analyzes components in a urine sample. The components of urine have normal and abnormal levels. Furthermore, there are components that do not belong in the urine, which would render abnormal results. Some components...
Gallstones can range from extremely painful to barely noticeable. If you have experienced gallbladder problems in the past, you may be nervous about including certain items in your diet, like beer. Your gallbladder interacts directly with your...
Your gallbladder stores bile from your liver until your body needs it for digestion. Bile is then released into your small intestine. Bile is composed of cholesterol, water, fats, bile salts, protein and bilirubin. Eating high-fat and...
Hepatitis means an inflammation of the liver. The liver becomes inflamed usually as a result of infection by a virus. One of these viruses is the hepatitis C virus. According to the NIH, about four million people in the United States are infected...
The liver is a large organ in the abdomen that has a variety of functions. It cleans toxins and waste products from the blood, and it also makes proteins that assist in blood clotting. The liver can be damaged by some poisons (such as alcohol),...
According to the Mayo Clinic, doctors can assess the health of an individual's liver by performing a liver function panel. A liver function panel is a series of blood tests that measures the levels of enzymes and proteins in the blood. These blood...
Jaundice is a symptom of an underlying pathology and is not a disease. It clinically presents as a yellow discoloration of the skin, eyes and mucous membranes as a consequence of an abnormally increased bilirubin concentration in the blood plasma....
Albumin is a protein that comes from your liver and circulates in your bloodstream. Your body relies on this protein to help grow, repair and maintain its tissues. If you have low blood levels of albumin, in most cases you can raise them by...
The liver serves many metabolic functions, including the production of enzymes, which are chemicals that help reactions occur in the body. Inflammation or other conditions that affect the liver can cause these enzymes to leak out into the...
The word "malnutrition" tends to elicit mental images of starving children in famine-stricken countries. It is not a disease typically associated with developing nations. Unfortunately, malnutrition -- which simply means "bad nourishment" -- is...
Almost 27,000 Americans die from liver diseases each year, reports New York Presbyterian Hospital. Diseases affecting the liver range from hepatitis to cirrhosis. One key indicator of liver disease is an elevated level of alanine aminotransferase,...
