Área salud / Liver disease / Liver

The liver is one of the most important organs due to its involvement in metabolic activity. Its main functions are: detoxifying the organism by removing harmful substances from the blood (converting them into innocuous substances), synthesizing plasma proteins, storing vitamins and glycogen or producing bile.

ETIOLOGY OF HEPATIC DISEASES

Throughout an individual’s lifetime, his/her liver may be exposed to a number of factors which lead to the development of specific pathologies. The most common causes can be:

• Alcohol intake. Alcohol can damage the liver by blocking normal protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Chronic alcoholism is also synonymous with cirrhosis of the liver.
• Chronic hepatitis C. This viral infection causes moderate liver damage and inflammation that can lead to cirrhosis after several decades.
• Chronic hepatitis B and D. Hepatitis B virus is probably the most common cause of cirrhosis worldwide but it is less common in the West. Like hepatitis C, hepatitis B causes liver damage and inflammation that can lead to cirrhosis after several decades. Hepatitis D is caused by another liver-infecting virus but only in people who already have hepatitis B.
• Autoimmune hepatitis. This disease is caused by the immune system attacking the liver and causing inflammation, damage, and finally scarring and cirrhosis.
• Hereditary diseases. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, hemochromatosis, Wilson’s disease, galactosemia, and diseases related to glycogen storage are among the hereditary diseases interfering with how the liver produces, processes and stores enzymes, proteins, metals, and other substances that the body needs to correctly function.