What are liver diseases?
The liver is one of the most important and largest organs in the human body, being an organ involved in various vital processes, such as keeping the body clean and breaking down food that enters the body for nutrients, converting them into energy, while removing various toxins from them.
As such, liver diseases are those that affect the liver in some way, preventing it from working or functioning well.
There are different threats to liver health, such as viruses, genetic alterations, excess fat or excessive consumption of substances such as alcohol. Also included is the so-called primary liver cancer, known as hepatocellular carcinoma.
The most common liver diseases are hepatitis A, B or C, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, jaundice, fatty liver and hemochromatosis.
Prognosis of liver diseases
The main problem with liver diseases is that it is a fairly strong organ, which has the ability to repair itself.
This is a major problem, because until the liver function fails, it is not known that there is a problem in the organ. Thus, until a serious disease such as liver cancer appears, liver problems go completely unnoticed.
Hepatitis or inflammation of the liver caused by infection causes about 80% of primary liver cancers. As such, hepatocellular carcinoma is quite a serious problem, being the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.
Symptoms of liver disease
Although liver function does not improve until the liver is severely affected, there are some defining symptoms of liver disease:
- Existence of nausea and dizziness, which may result in vomiting.
- Intense pain in the abdomen
- Jaundice, which consists mainly of yellowing of the skin due to an increase in the amount of bilirubin in the blood.
- Itching of the skin
- Feeling of fatigue
- Ease of bruising and bleeding
Medical tests for liver disease
At first, liver diseases do not show any symptoms, and the patient does not know that he or she is suffering from liver disease unless diagnosed by tests performed for another cause or reason. There are some medical tests used to detect and diagnose possible liver diseases.
- Liver biopsy: through a small needle, a small sample of liver tissue is removed and examined for possible diseases.
- CT scan: thanks to this test, the liver can be observed in three dimensions to check for abnormalities.
- Endoscopic retrograde endoscopic cholangiopancreatography: through the insertion of a small tube through the goose, the intestine is reached and it is observed if there is any type of obstruction in the biliary ducts.
- Sonogram: through this test an image of the liver can be shown.
- Blood test: through a blood sample the level of different substances can be measured.
Healthy liver and liver cirrhosis
What are the causes of liver disease?
There are different risk factors that increase a person’s risk of liver disease. Some of them would be the following:
- Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.
- Drug injections with syringes
- Blood transfusions before 1992
- Tattoos or piercings performed in unregulated premises
- Unprotected sexual intercourse
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Prolonged exposure to chemicals
Liver disease has different causes, such as infections by viruses or parasites, by abnormalities in the immune system, by genetic problems or by substance abuse…
A distinction must be made between the different types of hepatitis, the most dangerous being hepatitis B or hepatitis C, which causes up to 80% of liver cancers. In the case of Hepatitis B, it is caused by the HBV virus and is transmitted through infected body fluids such as blood, semen, urine…
Hepatitis C is transmitted by direct contact with the blood of an infected person.
In the case of fatty liver, a distinction must be made between alcoholic fatty liver caused mainly by excessive alcohol consumption and non-alcoholic fatty liver.
Can liver diseases be prevented?
There are a number of recommendations that allow the prevention of liver diseases:
- Drink alcohol in moderation
- Avoid risk factors and behaviors
- Be vaccinated
- Avoid medications with caution and without mixing them with alcohol.
- Avoiding other people’s body fluids
- Protect your skin
- Avoid obesity
Treatments for liver disease
- Liver cancer: it can be approached from different points of view, which will vary depending on the tumor and the patient’s condition.
- Surgical resection: performed in patients with single, asymptomatic tumors and with preserved liver function.
- Liver transplant: candidates must have tumors of less than five centimeters or two or three tumors of less than three centimeters, although it can be performed on patients who do not have any tumor.
- Ablation: heat is applied to the lesion.
- Chemoembolization: this is recommended in symptomatic patients with unresectable hepatocarcinomas in which the tumor is too large for radiofrequency.
- Cirrhosis: cirrhosis cannot be cured, although measures can be taken such as giving up alcohol, limiting the use of drugs and maintaining a diet rich in vegetables, cereals and fruit.
- Hepatitis: there is no specific treatment for hepatitis A, but a low-fat diet, avoidance of alcohol and rest are recommended. In the case of hepatitis B, apart from the above recommendations, there are some medications that can keep the virus under control for many years. Drug therapy used to treat hepatitis C for 30 to 48 weeks.
- Fatty liver: in the case of non-alcoholic fatty liver, weight should be lost and diet should be improved. In case it is caused by the intake of any medication, it should be stopped. In the case of alcoholic fatty liver disease, the prescription is to stop drinking alcohol.
Which specialist treats liver diseases?
The specialists in charge of treating liver diseases are those who specialize in the treatment of the digestive system, although specialists in Internal Medicine can also treat it.