Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is an acute condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced with scar tissue and regenerative nodules as a result of chronic liver disease.
A liver support system or diachysis is a type of therapeutic device to assist in performing the functions of the liver. Such systems focus either on removing the accumulating toxins (liver dialysis), or providing additional replacement of the metabolic functions of the liver through the inclusion of hepatocytes to the device (bioartificial liver device).
Liver diseases, including conditions such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), and viral hepatitis, are significant public health concerns worldwide. In the United States, NAFLD is the most common chronic liver condition, affecting approximately 24% of the population, with the prevalence rising due ...
Chronic liver disease takes several years to develop and the condition may not be recognised unless there is clinical awareness of subtle signs and investigation of abnormal liver function tests. Testing for chronic liver disease involves blood tests, imaging including ultrasound, and a biopsy of the liver. The liver biopsy is a simple ...
Chronic liver failure usually occurs in the context of cirrhosis, itself potentially the result of many possible causes, such as excessive alcohol intake, hepatitis B or C, autoimmune, hereditary and metabolic causes (such as iron or copper overload, steatohepatitis or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). [citation needed]
Signs and symptoms depend largely upon the primary lesions giving rise to the condition. In addition to the heart or lung symptoms, there will be a sense of fullness and tenderness in the right hypochondriac region. Gastrointestinal catarrh is usually present, and vomiting of blood may occur. There is usually more or less jaundice.
The surgeon and portal hypertension expert Charles Gardner Child (1908–1991) (with Turcotte) of the University of Michigan first proposed the scoring system in 1964 in a textbook on liver disease. [3] It was modified by Pugh et al. in 1972 in a report on surgical treatment of bleeding from esophageal varices. [4]
Treatment generally includes supportive care including pain management and possibly diuretics. [5] In those with severe disease due to a bone marrow transplant, defibrotide is a proposed treatment. [6] It has been approved for use in severe cases in Europe and the United States. [7] [8] A placebo controlled trial, however, has not been done as ...