Team members

Names / Roles:

• [heidi lee jia ning]      (Leader)
• [koh min xue]      (Editor)
• [evette neo wei wei]      (Researcher)
• [janice tan]      (Researcher)

Meaning / Definition

Liver disease refers to any disorder of the liver.

Causes and Effects

In this section, while using a little medical jargon as possible,

1) include a description of the condition(s)  or situation(s) causing the disorder or disease;

2) include a description of the effect(s), outcome(s) or impact(s) on the patients' lives as a result of having the disorder or disease. 

You may include picture(s) or video(s) to illustrate your points.

There are more than a hundred kinds of liver disease. The most widely spread are as follows:

• Hepatitis, inflammation of the liver, is caused mainly by various viruses  but also by some liver toxins ,autoimmunity or hereditary conditions.
• Alcoholic liver disease is any hepatic manifestation of alcohol overconsumption, including fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis. Analogous terms such as "drug-induced" or "toxic" liver disease are also used to refer to the range of disorders caused by various drugs and environmental chemicals.
• Fatty liver disease is a reversible condition where large vacuoles of triglyceride fat accumulate in liver cells. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a spectrum of disease associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, among other causes. Fatty liver may lead to inflammatory disease and, eventually, cirrhosis.
• Cirrhosis is the formation of fibrous tissue in the place of liver cells that have died due to a variety of causes, including viral hepatitis, alcohol overconsumption, and other forms of liver toxicity. Cirrhosis causes chronic liver failure.
• Primary liver cancer most commonly manifests as hepatocellular carcinoma and/or cholangiocarcinoma; rarer forms include angiosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma of the liver.
• Gilbert's syndrome, a genetic disorder of bilirubin metabolism found in about 5% of the population, can cause mild jaundice.

The most effective way to treat alcoholic liver disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is to make lifestyle changes, such as:

• Cutting out alcohol
• Improving the diet
• Engaging in regular exercise

Anti-viral medications are available to treat infections such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. This is an area of active research and drug development and today many treatments offer improved outcomes, by clearing or controlling the virus to slow any decline in the condition of your liver.

Other conditions may be managed by slowing down disease progression, for example:

• By using steroid-based drugs in autoimmune hepatitis.
• Regularly removing a quantity of blood from a vein (venesection) in the iron overload condition, hemochromatosis.
• Wilson’s disease, a condition where copper builds up in the body, can be managed with drugs which bind copper allowing it to be passed from your body in urine.
• In cholestatic liver disease (where the flow of bile is affected) a medication called ursodeoxycholic acid (URSO, also referred to as UDCA) may be given. Made from naturally occurring bile acid, it may offer some protection for the liver from the harmful chemicals in the bile, slowing damage.

Signs and Symptoms

In this section, while using a little medical jargon as possible, include a description of the signs and symptoms exhibited by people having the disorder or disease. You may include picture(s) or video(s) to illustrate your points. 

The symptoms related to liver dysfunction include both physical signs and a variety of symptoms related to digestive problems, coagulopathies, blood sugar problems, immune disorders, abnormal absorption of fats, and metabolism problems.The malabsorption of fats may lead to symptoms that include indigestion, reflux, deficit of fat soluble vitamins, hemorrhoids, gallstones, intolerance to fatty foods, intolerance to alcohol, nausea and vomiting attacks, abdominal bloating, and constipation.

Nervous system disorders include depression, mood changes, especially anger and irritability, poor concentration and "foggy brain", overheating of the body, especially the face and torso, and recurrent headaches (including migraine) associated with nausea.

The blood sugar problems include hypoglycaemia.

Hypercholesterolemia: elevated LDL cholesterol, reduced HDL cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, clogged arteries leading to high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, build up of fat in other body organs,lumps of fat in the skin, excessive weight gain (which may lead to obesity), inability to lose weight even while dieting, sluggish metabolism, protuberant abdomen (pot belly), cellulite, fatty liver, and a roll of fat around the upper abdomen (liver roll) Or too low levels of lipids: hypocholesterolemia: low total cholesterol, low LDL and VLDL cholesterol, low triglycerides

Prevention and Treatment

In this section, while using a little medical jargon as possible,

1) include a description of the steps to prevent getting the disorder or disease (if it cannot be prevented, do explain why);

2) include a description of the treatment of the disorder or disease (if it cannot be treated, do explain why) or the steps to lessen its signs or symptoms. 

You may include picture(s) or video(s) to illustrate your points. 

The most effective way to treat alcoholic liver disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is to make lifestyle changes, such as:

• Cutting out alcohol
• Improving the diet
• Engaging in regular exercise

Anti-viral medications are available to treat infections such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. This is an area of active research and drug development and today many treatments offer improved outcomes, by clearing or controlling the virus to slow any decline in the condition of your liver.

Other conditions may be managed by slowing down disease progression, for example:

• By using steroid-based drugs in autoimmune hepatitis.
• Regularly removing a quantity of blood from a vein (venesection) in the iron overload condition, hemochromatosis.
• Wilson’s disease, a condition where copper builds up in the body, can be managed with drugs which bind copper allowing it to be passed from your body in urine.
• In cholestatic liver disease (where the flow of bile is affected) a medication called ursodeoxycholic acid may be given. Made from naturally occurring bile acid, it may offer some protection for the liver from the harmful chemicals in the bile, slowing damage.

Link to Other Illnesses or Diseases

In this section, while using a little medical jargon as possible, include a description of the illness(es) or disease(s) that may occur as a result of having this disorder or disease. 

You may include picture(s) or video(s) to illustrate your points.

References

Plagiarism is a strongly discouraged.

In this section, include the links of all websites you obtained information from to complete your health science wiki page.

For example:

WebMD (http://www.webmd.com/)