Liver Cirrhosis

No other organs in our body perform a wider variety of essential jobs than the liver because it:
1) produces essential proteins that help blood to clot
2) removes or neutralizes poisons, drugs and alcohol
3) manufactures bile that helps the body to absorb fats and cholesterol
4) helps to maintain normal blood sugar levels
5) regulates several hormones

Liver Cirrhosis is a disease in which normal liver cells are replaced by scar tissue, which interferes with all of these important functions. In extreme cases, the damage is so severe that the only solution is a liver transplant. Cirrhosis is the eighth leading cause of death by disease in the United States, killing 25,000 people each year. It impairs thousands of other people as the liver gradually loses its ability to function.

In the United States and Europe, the most common causes of liver cirrhosis are excessive alcohol use and chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus.
Alcoholic cirrhosis tends to develop after a decade or more of heavy drinking, although it is possible for "social drinkers" to have cirrhosis. It is not known why some people are more prone to adverse reactions than others, but women are at greater risk of cirrhosis, even when they drink less alcohol than men.

Chronic hepatitis C causes inflammation of the liver that eventually can lead to cirrhosis. One out of every five people with chronic hepatitis C develops cirrhosis after 20 years. Chronic hepatitis B, which causes damage in a similar way, is the leading cause of cirrhosis in the world but is less common in industrialized countries.