Patient's
Diagnosis: Liver Cirrhosis
What is Liver Cirrhosis?
Cirrhosis is a condition in which your liver is scarred and permanently damaged. Scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue and prevents your liver from working normally. As cirrhosis gets worse, your liver begins to fail
What are the common causes of liver cirrhosis
Common causes include excessive drinking of alcohol, hepatitis B and C virus infections, and fatty liver that's caused by obesity and diabetes.
How does one avoid getting liver cirrhosis?
Limit alcohol intake
Aim for a healthy weight
What part do liver cirrhosis affect?
The liver
What are some functions of the liver?
How does liver cirrhosis affect the liver and health of a person?
Assimilation
produces bile to emulsify fats
regulate blood glucose concentration
regulate amino acid concentration
Detoxification
short-term effects
Long-term effects
interferes with the ability to taste and smell, further limiting dietary intake.
the additional alcohol will accumulate in the blood and body tissues until it can be metabolized
The liver is unable to take in much alcohol. Thus, it is unable to detoxify the body, leaving harmful substances in the alcohol in the body.
Each time your liver filters alcohol, some of the liver cells die. The liver can develop new cells, but prolonged alcohol misuse (drinking too much) over many years can reduce its ability to regenerate.
results in damage to liver cells
What are the Symptoms?
Feel very tired and weak
feel sick ( nausea )
lose your appetite
lose weight and muscle mass
How do we check for liver cirrhosis?
blood tests, scans and a liver biopsy
Proteins are unable to be synthesized due to the lack of functions of the liver.
How common is liver cirrhosis?
It is estimated that 1 in 400 adults are affected by this disease.
Misconceptions on Liver cirrhosis:
It is not cancer.
It's not hereditary.
It's not fatal unless serious/life-threatening.
Generally irreversible.
Storage of iron
- breakdown of haemoglobin produces iron which is stored in the liver and used in the synthesis of new red blood cells.