What is liver Cirrhosis?

Cirrhosis may be a late stage of scarring (fibrosis) of the liver caused by several sorts of liver diseases and conditions, like liver disease and chronic alcoholism. Each time your liver is gashed — whether or not by unwellness, excessive alcohol consumption or another cause — it tries to repair itself. In the process, scar tissue forms. As cirrhosis of the liver progresses, additional and additional connective tissue forms, creating it tough for the liver to operate (decompensated cirrhosis).Advanced cirrhosis is life-threatening.

The liver injury done by cirrhosis of the liver typically cannot be undone.

But if liver cirrhosis of the liver is diagnosed early and therefore the cause is treated, any injury may be restricted and, rarely, reversed.

What causes liver Cirrhosis?

A wide vary of diseases and conditions will injury the liver and cause cirrhosis of the liver.

Some of the causes include:

Ø  Chronic alcohol abuse

Ø  Chronic viral hepatitis (hepatitis B, C and D)

Ø  Fat accumulating in the liver (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease)

Ø  Iron buildup in the body (hemochromatosis)

Ø  Cystic fibrosis

Ø  Copper accumulated in the liver (Wilson's disease)

Ø  Poorly formed bile ducts (biliary atresia)

Ø  Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Ø  Genetic digestive disorder (Alagille syndrome)

Ø  Destruction of the bile ducts (primary biliary cirrhosis)

Ø  Hardening and scarring of the bile ducts (primary sclerosing cholangitis

Ø  Infection, such as syphilis or brucellosis

Ø  Medications, including methotrexate or isoniazid

How is Cirrhosis diagnosed?

People with early-stage cirrhosis of the liver of the liver sometimes haven't got symptoms.

Often, cirrhosis of the liver is initial detected through a routine biopsy or medical.

To help make sure a diagnosing, a mixture of laboratory and imaging tests is typically done.

Tests

Your doctor might order one or additional tests which will recommend a tangle together with your liver, including:

Ø     Laboratory tests - Your doctor may order blood tests to check for signs of liver malfunction, such as excess bilirubin, as well as for certain enzymes that may indicate liver damage. To assess kidney function, your blood is checked for creatinine. You'll be screened for the hepatitis viruses. Your international normalized ratio (INR) is also checked for your blood's ability to clot. Based on the biopsy results, your doctor may be able to diagnose the underlying cause of cirrhosis.He or she can also use blood tests to help identify how serious your cirrhosis is.

Ø     Imaging tests - Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) may be recommended. This noninvasive advanced imaging test detects hardening or stiffening of the liver. Other imaging tests, such as MRI, CT and ultrasound, may also be done.

Ø     Biopsy - A tissue sample (biopsy) is not necessarily needed for diagnosis. However, your doctor might use it to spot the severity, extent and cause of liver damage. If you've got cirrhosis of the liver, your doctor is likely to recommend regular diagnostic tests to monitor for signs of disease progression or complications, especially esophageal varices and liver cancer.Noninvasive tests are becoming more widely available for monitoring.

Symptoms

Cirrhosis typically has no signs or symptoms till liver injury is in depth.

When signs and symptoms do occur, they will include:

Ø  Fatigue

Ø  Easily bleeding or bruising

Ø  Loss of appetite

Ø  Nausea

Ø  Swelling in your legs, feet or ankles (edema)

Ø  Weight loss

Ø  Itchy skin

Ø  Yellow discoloration in the skin and eyes (jaundice)

Ø  Fluid accumulation in your abdomen (ascites)

Ø  Spiderlike blood vessels on your skin

Ø  Redness in the palms of the hands

Ø  For women, absent or loss of periods not related to menopause

Ø  For men, loss of sex drive, breast enlargement (gynecomastia) or testicular atrophy

Ø  Confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech (hepatic encephalopathy)

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