The Most Frequent Cirrhosis Causes

cirrhosis-causes There are some causes of cirrhosis, such as alcohol, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), cryptogenic cirrhosis, chronic viral hepatitis, Inherited disorders, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, autoimmune hepatitis, biliary atresia, and cardiac chronic heart failure as cirrhosis causes problems.

Alcohol cause hepatic cirrhosis

Alcohol is a very common cause of cirrhosis, especially in the western world. The development of cirrhosis depends on the amount and regularity of alcohol consumption. Chronic high levels of alcohol consumption for liver cell damage. Thirty percent of people drinking daily for at least eight to sixteen ounces of hard liquor or the equivalent of fifteen or more years will develop cirrhosis. Alcohol causes a range of diseases of the liver to be simple and uncomplicated fatty liver (steatosis), to more severe fatty liver with inflammation (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or hepatitis), cirrhosis.

Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

NAFLD, better known as Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease refers to a broad spectrum of liver diseases such as alcoholic liver disease, ranging from simple steatosis to non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH) to cirrhosis. All stages of NAFLD have in common the accumulation of fat in liver cells. The term is used because NAFLD nonalcoholic occurs in people who do not consume excessive amounts of alcohol, however, in many respects, the microscopic image of non-alcoholic fatty liver is similar to what can be seen in liver disease caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Is NAFLD associated with a condition called insulin resistance, which in turn is associated with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Obesity is a major cause of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes. NAFLD is the most common liver disease in the United States and is responsible for 24% of all liver diseases. In fact, the number of livers that are transplanted from non-alcoholic fatty liver, cirrhosis is related to the increase. The public health administrators that the current epidemic of obesity dramatically increases the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver and cirrhosis in the population.

Cryptogenic cirrhosis (cirrhosis due to unidentified causes)

Cirrhosis due to unidentified causes, better known as Cryptogenic-Cirrhosis is a common reason for liver transplantation. It’s called cryptogenic cirrhosis because for years doctors have been unable to explain why a proportion of patients with cirrhosis developed. Doctors now believe that cryptogenic cirrhosis due to NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) caused by long-standing obesity, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. The fat in the liver of patients with NASH is estimated to disappear with the onset of cirrhosis, and this makes it difficult for physicians to establish the link between NASH and cryptogenic cirrhosis long. An important clue leading to NASH cryptogenic cirrhosis is the discovery of a large number of Nash in the new liver of patients undergoing liver transplantation in cryptogenic cirrhosis. Finally, a French study suggests that patients with NASH have a similar risk of developing cirrhosis patients with long-term infection with hepatitis C. (See below). However, it is expected that progression to cirrhosis from NASH to be slow and the diagnosis of cirrhosis is usually performed in patients in the sixties.

Chronic Viral Hepatitis

Viral hepatitis chronic is a condition where chronic hepatitis B or chronic hepatitis C affects the liver for years. Most patients with viral hepatitis develop chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. For example, most patients infected with hepatitis A recover completely within a few weeks without developing chronic infection. However, some patients infected with hepatitis B and most patients infected with hepatitis C develop chronic hepatitis, which in turn leads to progressive liver disease leading to cirrhosis and sometimes liver cancer.

Inherited (genetic) disorders

Inherited genetic disorders that cause the accumulation of toxic substances in the liver, leading to tissue damage and cirrhosis. Examples include the abnormal accumulation of iron (hemochromatosis) or copper (Wilson’s disease). In hemochromatosis, patients inherit a tendency to absorb too much iron from food. Over time, iron accumulation in various organs in the body causes cirrhosis, arthritis, heart muscle damage leading to heart failure, and testicular dysfunction causing loss of sexual appetite. Treatment aims to prevent organ damage from the removal of iron in the body by bleeding (blood removal). In Wilson’s disease, is an inherited abnormality in one of the proteins that control copper in the body. Over time, copper accumulates in the liver, eyes and brain. Cirrhosis, tremor, psychiatric disorders and other neurological disorders occur if the condition is not treated quickly. Treatment with oral medication that increases the amount of copper from the body in urine.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC)

PBC, better known as Primary Biliary Cirrhosis is a liver disease caused by abnormal immune system that is predominantly female. Abnormal immunity in PBC causes chronic inflammation and destruction of small bile ducts in the liver. The bile ducts are the passages in the liver, bile travels to the intestine. Bile is a liquid produced by the liver that contains substances necessary for digestion and absorption of fat in the intestine, and other compounds that are waste products such as bilirubin, a pigment. (Bilirubin is produced by the breakdown of hemoglobin in red blood cells.). Along with the gallbladder, bile ducts form the biliary tract. In the PBC, the destruction of small bile duct blocks the normal flow of bile into the intestine. As the inflammation continues to destroy more of the bile ducts, also extends to destroy liver cells nearby. That the destruction of hepatocytes of products, the scar tissue (fibrosis) forms and propagates in the areas of destruction. The combined effects of ongoing inflammation, scarring, and the toxic effects of waste accumulation leads to cirrhosis.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)

PSC, better known as Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis is a rare disease that occurs frequently in patients with ulcerative colitis. In the PSC, the large bile ducts outside the liver become inflamed, narrowed and blocked. Outflow obstruction of the bile duct in biliary tract infections and jaundice, and eventually causes cirrhosis. In some patients, bile duct injury (usually after surgery) can also cause obstruction and cirrhosis of the liver.

Autoimmune hepatitis

Autoimmune hepatitis is a liver disease caused by abnormal immune system that occurs most often in women. The abnormal immune activity in autoimmune hepatitis resulting in inflammation and progressive destruction of liver cells (hepatocytes), which eventually leads to cirrhosis.

Babies can be born without bile ducts (biliary atresia)

Biliary atresia, also known as infant can be born without bile ducts and eventually develop cirrhosis. Other babies are born without enzyme vital for control of sugar that leads to the accumulation of sugars and cirrhosis. On rare occasions, the absence of a specific enzyme can cause cirrhosis and scarring of the lungs (alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency).

Other less common causes of cirrhosis include unusual reactions to certain drugs and exposure to toxins, and chronic heart failure (cardiac cirrhosis)

In some parts of the world (especially North Africa), infection of the liver parasites (schistosomiasis) is the most common cause of liver disease and cirrhosis.