The liver performs over 500 functions and is considered to be one of the most important organs in the human body. The functions liver perform include regulating cholesterol and blood sugar, filtering out blood toxins, storing energy and making hormones and proteins. There are many diseases which liver can catch and most prominent being alcoholic liver disease

When a person consumes alcohol in excess, it leads to building up of fats, inflammation and scarring of the liver   which results in alcoholic liver disease.

The damage that occurs due to this disease in the liver can affect the whole body. Since the liver is generally highly effective in repairing and regenerating itself so the damage takes longer to come into notice. It often becomes distinctive by the time the damage is already irreversible.

This disease usually takes place in people between 40 and 50 years of age. This disease is most commonly seen in men. Certain cases have been seen where people may have inherited the risk for the disease.

Liver disease related to alcohol consumption fits into following 1 of 3 categories:

Fatty liver: This takes place due to acute consumption of alcohol. This state is generally reversible if alcohol isn t consumed.
Alcoholic hepatitis: This is an acute type of alcohol-induced liver injury which takes place when alcohol is consumed excessively over a long period of time. It can lead to liver failure and death as well.
Cirrhosis: Cirrhosis is a late stage of scarring (fibrosis) of the liver caused by over consumptions of alcohol. It can also occur due to other reasons as well.
Some Facts about Alcoholic Liver Disease

It is the main cause of chronic liver disease in Western nations and the third most common cause of liver transplants.
Staying away from alcohol is the only way to the patient s recovery.
Jaundice and tremors are the most common symptoms of this disease.
Medication, lifestyle changes, and surgery are some available treatments.
Early signs of the Disease
The early signs of alcoholic liver disease are not much noticeable and affect many systems in the body.

Pain in the abdomen
Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea
Decreased appetite
If these signs are left unattended and the patient continues to consume alcohol, it can lead to a faster damage to the liver.

The symptoms of this disease become noticeable usually during the later stage of liver disease. The symptoms of this disease include:

Jaundice
Edema or swelling of the lower limbs
A build-up of fluid in the abdomen, known as ascites
Fever and shivering
Extremely itchy skin
Clubbing of fingernails
Loss of weight
General weakness
Blood in vomit and stools
Bleeding and bruising more easily
More sensitive reactions to alcohol and drugs
In most patients with the alcoholic liver disease, the illness is not severe. You may not require hospitalization immediately as long you take necessary precaution like stopping the consumption of alcohol, take good nutrition and follow the advice of the doctor. However, in more severe cases, the doctor may be able to suggest the best line of treatment.

Alcoholic Liver Disease - Know The Symptoms!

Uncontrolled alcohol consumption over a prolonged time can severely affect the liver, giving rise to Alcohol-Induced Liver Disease. The liver plays a significant role in digestion as well as filtering the toxins out of the body. Normally, the liver is capable of regenerating its damaged cells and tissues. However, unlimited alcohol consumption interferes with the functioning of the liver. With time, the ability of the liver to regenerate itself also gets affected (reduces) due to excessive drinking resulting in liver problems and disorders.

The stages of alcohol induced liver disease
Alcohol induced liver disease progresses through three stages, alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and finally cirrhosis.

Alcoholic fatty liver disease: The fatty liver is an early stage of Alcohol induced liver disease, characterized by excess deposition of fats (~ between 5-10% of the total liver weight) in the liver cells and tissues. People with fatty liver should give up drinking for good (or at least till the condition is improved and reversed). Fatty liver seldom exhibits any characteristic symptoms.
Alcoholic hepatitis: Alcoholic hepatitis mostly affects people who are heavily into drinking. More than often, the condition triggers damage and destruction of the liver. Further, there may be swelling and inflammation of the liver. A person with alcoholic hepatitis may experience
Abdominal pain
Fever
Nausea and vomiting
In some patients, the condition may trigger jaundice (excess build up of blood bilirubin resulting for improper functioning of the liver)
In extreme cases, alcoholic hepatitis may result in fatal consequences
Liver cirrhosis: This is the most severe form of alcohol induced liver disease that can give rise to serious and life threatening health complications. Cirrhosis is often an irreversible condition where there is maximum scarring of the liver cells and tissues. In addition to the symptoms associated with alcoholic hepatitis, a person with cirrhosis may also exhibit the following symptoms.
Esophageal varices: It is a condition characterized by bleeding of the esophageal veins
Ascites: In people with cirrhosis, there may be an excessive fluid accumulation in the stomach.
Portal hypertension: It is a condition when the blood pressure in the liver shoots up.
Cirrhosis may also affect the spleen, resulting in its enlargement. There may be mood swings and behavioral problems. A person with cirrhosis should waste no time and immediately consult a specialist to avoid further aggravation.

Factors contributing to alcohol induced liver disease
The following factors in combination with alcohol can wreak havoc, worsening the condition further:

Malnutrition: In some people, excessive drinking can result in malnutrition (alcohol often results in malabsorption of the essential nutrients). Malnutrition, in turn, can adversely affect the liver.
Obesity: Obesity, one of the common consequences of alcohol consumption, can spell doom for the liver and its normal functioning.
Alcohol: It acts as a poison for people suffering from Acute Hepatitis C (viral hepatitis), further damaging the liver. Some research suggests that women who are into heavy drinking are more likely to suffer from liver problems than their male counterparts.
Genetics: It may be responsible for the inability of the body to processes alcohol effectively, resulting in liver problems.

Alcohol Induced Liver Disease - Understanding It In Detail!

Cirrhosis of liver is slow and gradual replacement of normal healthy liver tissue with scar tissue which results in poor liver function and blockage of flow of blood through liver which comes from intestines. As more scar tissue replaces normal healthy liver, liver begins to fail.

What causes cirrhosis?

Alcohol: Amount of alcohol which can cause liver damage varies from person to person, however those who consume alcohol for long in significant amount are more prone to develop liver damage.
Hepatitis B or hepatitis C: Caused by hepatitis B and C viruses, respectively, which are acquired by contact with contaminated blood (like needlestick injury, blood transfusion, injection drug abuser), sexual contact with infected person and from mother to child during childbirth.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): Caused by presence of extra fat in liver (after excluding significant alcohol intake) which causes inflammation and scarring leading to cirrhosis. Usually seen in patients who are overweight or obese, having diabetes, high fat in blood, high blood pressure or metabolic syndrome.
Drugs causing liver injury.
Others: Autoimmune hepatitis (body`s own immunity acting against liver), Wilson disease (build up of copper in body), hemochromatosis (excess of iron in body), certain bile duct disorders, etc.
What are the symptoms of cirrhosis?

Early disease can present with nonspecific symptoms like weakness, fatigue (loss of energy), decrease wish to take food, vomiting or nausea, weight loss, etc.
Advanced disease can present with fluid accumulation in legs (edema) or abdomen (ascites), facial puffiness, yellowish discoloration of eyes or urine (jaundice), redness of palm (palmer erythema), decrease urine output, small red lesions on skin, easy bleeding following trauma, blood coming out of mouth/anus/other body site, black colored feaces, mental confusion, flapping tremors of hand, etc. In men it can cause impotence, breast enlargement and shrinking of testis.
What are the complication of cirrhosis?

Portal hypertension: It is a common complication of cirrhosis which is due to increased pressure in portal vein. Portal vein is main blood vessel which carries blood to liver from stomach, intestines, spleen, gallbladder and pancreas. Because of scar formation in liver the normal flow of blood from these organs to liver is hampered. As a result of blockage of blood flow to liver there are few complications which can arise like accumulation of fluid in abdomen (ascites) and legs (edema), formation of enlarged veins (varices) in food pipe (esophagus), stomach, etc., enlargement of spleen (splenomegaly), mental confusion/altered behavior/altered sensorium (hepatic encephalopathy), respiratory discomfort (hepatic hydrothorax or hepato-pulmonary syndrome) or decrease urine output/rise in creatinine (hepato-renal syndrome).

Increase risk of infection because of immune system dysfunction.
Development of liver cancer (Hepatocellular carcinoma)
Easy brusibility or bleeding following light trauma.
Gall bladder stone formation
Metabolic bone disease
What are the stages of cirrhosis?

Compensated cirrhosis: Liver damage is damaged but no abdominal swelling (ascites), blood in vomiting or black/red color feaces (variceal bleed), altered behavior/sensorium (hepatic encephalopathy), respiratory discomfort (hepatic hydrothorax or hepato-pulmonary syndrome) or decrease urine output/rise in creatinine (hepato-renal syndrome).
Decompensated cirrhosis: Presence of abdominal swelling (ascites), blood in vomiting or black/red color feaces (variceal bleed), altered behavior/sensorium (hepatic encephalopathy), respiratory discomfort (hepatic hydrothorax or hepato-pulmonary syndrome) or decrease urine output/rise in creatinine (hepato-renal syndrome).
How cirrhosis is diagnosed?

Your doctor will take good history and do proper physical examination. If there is suspicion of cirrhosis then he will subject you to some blood test, ultrasound abdomen, fibroscan/elastography, upper GI endoscopy and if needed CT scan or MRI of abdomen or liver biopsy.

Ultrasound of abdomen in cirrhosis may shows coarse liver echotexture, nodular liver surface, dilated portal vein or collateral, enlarged spleen or abdominal fluid (ascites).

How to prevent cirrhosis?

Best way to avoid development of cirrhosis from predisposing stage of liver illness is to recognize and treat early. Few advices to keep liver healthy are:

Dietary modification: Eat healthy balanced diet. Avoid high calorie food or drinks, saturated fat, sugar and refined carbohydrates. Keep yourself hydrated.
Lifestyle modification: Maintain healthy body weight. Avoid being overweight or obese. Aerobic exercise (like brisk walk 30-45min/day atleast 5days/week) regularly helps to lower liver fat.
Avoid: Avoid use of contaminated needles, sharing of items of personal hygiene (like shaving razors, toothbrush, nail clippers, etc), use of illicit drugs, self medication with over the counter drugs or using drugs beyond doctor`s advice.
Practice safe protected sex
Alcohol
Motivate others: to stop drinking and follow hand hygiene and doctor`s advice.
Hand hygiene: Wash hand with soap and water regularly before eating, after going to toilet and after touching dirty objects.
Vaccination: For hepatitis A or hepatitis B, if you are not vaccinated or not already infected or unsafe antibody titre. Transmission rate of hepatitis B from mother to child at birth can be reduced with vaccination and immunization of newborn starting within 12 hours of birth as well as by using antiviral drugs (if indicated).
Prevent others from getting infected from you if you harbor virus causing liver damage.

How to treat cirrhosis?

Treatment of cirrhosis is based on cause of cirrhosis and complication of cirrhosis. Main aim of treatment in early stage of cirrhosis is to slow the progression of cirrhosis and prevent complications development

Stop alcohol, antiviral drugs for hepatitis b or hepatitis C, proper sugar level if diabetes, steroid or other medications for autoimmune hepatitis, medications to reduce copper from body in patients with Wilson`s disease, etc.
Drugs to lower portal pressure (beta-blocker or nitrates), drugs to remove fluid from body (diuretics), drugs to lower ammonia level for encephalopathy (lactulose and others), drugs to improve kidney function (albumin, terlipressin and others).
Opt for liver ransplant, If cirrhosis is life threatening or treatment of cirrhosis complication is ineffective.
Low salt high protein diet
Stop alcohol intake even if you have other cause of cirrhosis.
Stop smoking
Avoid over the counter drugs (especially pain killers)
Vaccinate if not done already or infected

Cirrhosis Of Liver - A Complete Guide!

A liver transplant surgery involves surgically substituting a problematic liver with a healthy liver from a different person. Usually, the healthy liver is taken from a person who has recently passed away. In some cases, a living person may also give away part of the liver. Usually, living donors are members of the family or someone who has a good blood type match. The liver regenerates lost tissues after a surgery; hence, the donor s liver becomes normal within a few weeks of surgery.

You may require a liver transplant if your liver does not function optimally, owing to the below mentioned conditions:

    Cirrhosis: This is a chronic disease of the liver wherein, scar tissues replace healthy tissues in the liver, thus, not allowing the liver to function optimally.
    Metabolic disease: Disorders that modify the activity of the chemicals in the body
    Acute hepatic necrosis: This is a disorder that causes the healthy tissues in the liver to die
    Autoimmune disorders or liver cancer: Autoimmune disorders can cause healthy tissues in the liver to die as the immune system in the body starts attacking healthy tissues. Formation of malignant tumors in the liver can impair liver functioning.

Procedure
You have to undergo certain procedures before the surgery is conducted; a general health exam, imaging tests, blood tests and a psychological exam are conducted before the surgery. Based on the functioning of the liver and some other factors, your suitability for the transplant will be determined.
The procedure begins with general anesthesia, following which an incision is made in the abdomen. The liver is then removed and replaced with a healthy one. Once the procedure is completed, the surgeon closes the incision with stitches.

Aftercare
Once the procedure is done with, you are kept in the intensive care unit for a few days. The doctor will monitor your progress and put you on medications. After the recovery, you will have to undergo check-ups at regular intervals. You may also have to take medications such as immunosuppressant to prevent your immune system from attacking the liver.

Liver Transplant Surgery - How Best To Care for it Post Surgery?

Excess fat cells in the human body can settle under the skin and cause obesity, Additionally, they may even settle in specific organs and liver is one of them. When fat starts accumulating in the liver, a condition known as fatty liver manifests itself.

There are two types of fatty liver disease alcoholic and non-alcoholic. As the name suggests, the former is triggered by excessive alcohol consumption, whereas the latter takes place due to other reasons. While non-alcoholic fatty liver disease interferes with the normal functioning of the liver, alcoholic fatty liver disease has specific symptoms such as jaundice, fever, spider veins, and increase white blood cells (WBCs) count.

In the world of Ayurveda, the liver is a pitta organ, which is absolutely essential for normal digestion and elimination. Therefore, the pitta dosha should always be in balance so that toxins are eliminated by the liver from the body. A liver disease results when the pitta is aggravated, which can be treated with the help of lifestyle and dietary modifications, in addition to Ayurvedic remedies.

The following are some of the Ayurvedic tips and guidelines that can support liver healing and reduce the symptoms of fatty liver:



Avoid fatty and fried foods as these can further aggravate pitta and heating and overstimulating.
Incorporate cool and non-acidic food items such as berries, pears and melons into your diet.
Eat a combination of steamed vegetable and whole grains such as quinoa.
Consume aloe juice in moderate quantities as it is cooling.
Regularly consume a mixture of 2 grams of long pepper powder and 1 teaspoon honey once a day for complete 1 month.
Consume a decoction of giloy (Tinospora cordifolia), 30 ml, mixed with a teaspoon of honey once a day. 7. Drink plenty of water to cool the body down and eliminate toxins.
Consume 10 to 20 ml of bhumi amla juice.
Take 1 to 3 grams of kakuti powder twice a day with water after meals.
In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Fatty Liver Diseases - 8 Best Ayurvedic Home Remedies to Treat It

The liver can be transplanted either from the living-donor or from the deceased donor. Liver transplant surgery includes the transplantation of a part of the liver from the donor to the donee who has a damaged liver and does not function well. Living-donor liver transplant is more common especially among children as the number of liver donee are more than the available deceased donors of the liver.

Living liver donors are the alternative for the donee waiting for a liver transplant from a deceased person. The remaining liver of the living donor, after the transplant, regenerates itself and reoccurs to its usual capacity and volume within a few months post the surgery. The donated part of the liver to the donee also regenerates and restores to its normal functioning.

Most often, the living-donor of the liver is a close relative or friend. Everyone or anyone cannot donate a liver but only those can who have the matching liver depending on age, organ size, blood type, and other health and medical factors. Both the donor and the donee have to go through a thorough medical examination before the transplant to know the potential outcome and risk involved.

Procedure-
For the transplant, the donor is first operated and the required part of his/her liver is removed. The donee s damaged liver part is then replaced by the healthy liver part of the donor. Both the donor s and the donee s operated liver is then attached with the bile duct and the blood vessels. Both the patients are kept under observation for some days for the medical team to know if they are having any health issue due to the transplant. The operated liver regenerates itself within certain months and starts functioning normally.

Precautions for the Donor-
Although the donor can go back to normal life routine a few months after the transplant there are a number of precautions that should be taken into account to avoid any health issue or liver damage.
  Avoid smoking.
  Avoid consumption of alcohol.
  Eat on time or do not starve or overeat.
  Avoid having heavy meals.
  Avoid heavy exercise or weight lifting or physical work.

Take Away-
Liver transplant is a surgery conducted to remove the damaged or injured liver of the patient with the healthy liver of the donor. The donor of the liver can either be deceased or living depending upon the availability of the donor and the severity of the donee.

Various lab tests and examinations are conducted on the donor and the donee to confirm their match and assess potential complications before the transplant. The donor is usually someone close to the patient or the donee whose liver has been matched depending upon various factors. As the liver regenerates within a few months, the donor can lead a normal life after the transplant.

Know How To Choose A Liver Donor For Liver Transplant! 

Don't wait any longer, manage your Alcoholic Liver Disease online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Alcoholic Liver Disease - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES