Liver cirrhosis is a chronic disorder that leads to the progressive destruction of liver tissue and function. Diseases, such as alcoholism, hepatitis or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, may cause liver cirrhosis to develop in some people....
Alcoholic or Laennec's cirrhosis typically occurs when 80 percent to 90 percent of the liver's normal tissue has been destroyed by the chronic abuse of alcohol. The liver's main functions include storing and metabolizing nutrients, filtering...
The liver is a vital organ needed to digest food, absorb nutrients and clear the body of waste. Many diseases and conditions can damage the liver without causing symptoms for decades, according to "The Merck Manual." End-stage liver disease, the...
Fatty liver, as defined by the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library, is a condition where fats accumulate inside the liver cells due to a variety of causes: alcoholism, obesity, diabetes and certain drugs and toxins. Broadly, fatty liver, or...
Liver damage occurs when the liver stops performing its main functions of converting food into energy, cleaning toxins from the blood and making bile that helps in digestion. There are various liver diseases and these include hepatitis A,...
Cirrhosis is a disorder characterized by damage to the liver tissue due to chronic injury. Liver cells are able to regenerate after they have been damaged, but when the damage is extensive and occurs over an extended period of time, then the liver...
Cirrhosis is a disease of the liver. In cirrhosis, normal liver cells are replaced by scar tissue, interfering with the normal functions of the liver. Common causes of cirrhosis include viral hepatitis such as hepatitis B, alcoholism, destruction...
Cirrhosis is the end stage of chronic liver disease, in which normally functioning liver tissue has been replaced by non-functioning scar tissue. Commonly, the early stages of cirrhosis are asymptomatic, making diagnosis difficult. However, the...
According to National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, cirrhosis is the condition of slow deterioration of the liver. This occurs due to the replacement of the healthy tissue with the scarring tissues and involves the blockage of...
Liver problems can arise for many reasons. Sometimes the problem is genetic. The immune system may attack the liver. Cancers can grow in the liver or metastasize to the liver from other organs. Drugs such as alcohol and high doses of Tylenol can...
Although the liver is able to regenerate and heal itself in the case of minor to moderate damage, severe injury to the liver can cause it to fail. If this occurs, the only effective treatment is a liver transplant. Organ transplantation is a risky...
According to Joshua Broder, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina in "Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine," chronic liver disease was the 12th most common cause of death in 2000....
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control's and Prevention show that more than 50 percent of adults regularly drink alcohol, contributing to more than 22,000 deaths associated with alcohol, excluding accidents and deaths. Combine all types...
Nearly 6,300 people received liver transplants in the United States between July 2008 and June 2009, according to UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing. Of those, UNOS statistics indicate that 88.6 percent survived one year after transplant,...
End stage liver disease, also called cirrhosis, causes fibrosis, or scarring of liver tissue that destroys the liver's ability to perform its normal functions. Cirrhosis, the twelfth most common cause of death in the United States in 2002, lead...
Amoxicillin clavulanate/potassium is an antibiotic called Augmentin--Co-amoxiclav in the United Kingdom or Clavamox in veterinary medicine. It is composed of two antibiotics, which gives it a wide spectrum of action. The combination of both...
Liver function tests are used to determine the state and function of a patient's liver. Several biochemical tests are used in this evaluation, some of which involve the detection of liver enzymes. Liver enzymes that are commonly detected include...
Millions of people have type 2 diabetes, in which the body does not produce enough insulin or does not respond to insulin the way it should. A drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes is metformin, an oral hypoglycemic (lowers blood sugar)....
Jaundice refers to the yellowing of the skin, mucus membranes and/or the eyes. It occurs because the blood contains excess levels of bilirubin, a yellow-colored pigment of red blood cells, according to the Mayo Clinic (see References below)....
Hepatitis C is one of six strains of hepatitis that can affect people. According to the Mayo Clinic, all forms of hepatitis affect the liver and disrupt its normal function. Unfortunately, not all patients experience symptoms of hepatitis C, which...
Vitamins are good for your body, including your liver. Even though vitamins are good for your body, taking vitamin supplements can be hard on your liver since it has to break down the pill. Vitamin supplements may contain fillers, which could also...
Inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease most commonly affect the intestines or other sections of the digestive tract, causing inflammation and swelling. The exact cause of Crohn's disease is unknown, but most likely involves the immune...
Hepatitis C is a disease that affects the liver. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there are 17,000 new hepatitis C infections every year. In 75 to 85 percent of hepatitis C cases, it becomes a chronic condition for...
Maintaining a healthy liver depends on how well you take care of it. The liver is one of the largest organs in the body and is essential in metabolizing nutrients from foods, regulating digestion and detoxifying harsh substances from the body,...
While there is no true way to prevent hemochromatosis, a step that you can take to dramatically reduce the risk of developing excess iron in the blood is receiving a genetic screening. Hemochromatosis is an inherited disease, although it is...
Tylenol is the name brand of a drug called acetaminophen. It is commonly used to relieve pain and fever. According to the National Institutes of Health, the most common cause of poisoning in the world is overdosing on acetaminophen. It is...
Alcohol is a commonly consumed substance which is processed by the liver. When the liver metabolizes alcohol it produces some byproducts that are toxic to the liver. The liver is able to heal itself, but it needs time to recover. In extreme cases,...
During pregnancy, some liver enzymes are normally elevated as part of the physiologic changes of pregnancy, while others are not. Abnormal liver enzyme elevations occur in 5 percent of pregnancies, according to J. Eileen May in "Mayo Clinic...
A healthy liver is central to a body's ability to function. The liver consistently performs its vital tasks and is seldom noticed until it becomes diseased and is unable to operate. It's important not to wait until your liver becomes sick to pay...
Pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition that occurs when pancreatic digestive enzymes become active within the gland and attack the pancreas itself. Learn about the different causes of, symptoms of, and treatments for pancreatitis in this...
