Also called: Also called: Hepatic fibrosis
Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver. Scar tissue forms because of injury or long-term disease. Scar tissue cannot do what healthy liver tissue does - make protein, help fight infections, clean the blood, help digest food and store energy. Cirrhosis can lead to
- Easy bruising or bleeding, or nosebleeds
- Swelling of the abdomen or legs
- Extra sensitivity to medicines
- High blood pressure in the vein entering the liver
- Enlarged veins in the esophagus and stomach
- Kidney failure
About 5 percent of people with cirrhosis get liver cancer.
Cirrhosis has many causes. In the United States, the most common causes are chronic alcoholism and hepatitis. Nothing will make the scar tissue disappear, but treating the cause can keep it from getting worse. If too much scar tissue forms, you may need to consider a liver transplant.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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What I Need to Know about Cirrhosis of the Liver
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis_ez/
- Cirrhosis(American Liver Foundation) - http://www.liverfoundation.org/education/info/cirrhosis/
- Cirrhosis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cirrhosis/DS00373/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
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Cirrhosis of the Liver(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/spanish/pubs/cirrhosis/index.htm
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Liver Biopsy(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/liverbiopsy/
- Liver Panel(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/liver_panel/glance.html
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Ultrasound - Abdomen(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=abdominus
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=abdominus
- Interventional Treatments for Liver Disease(Society of Interventional Radiology) - http://www.sirweb.org/patients/liver-disease/
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Milk Thistle(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/milkthistle/
- Alcohol Induced Liver Disease(American Liver Foundation) - http://www.liverfoundation.org/education/info/alcohol/
- Alcoholic Hepatitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/alcoholic-hepatitis/DS00785/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
- Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/DS00577/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
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Primary Biliary Cirrhosis(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/primarybiliarycirrhosis/index.htm
- Primary Biliary Cirrhosis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/primary-biliary-cirrhosis/DS00604/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
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Cirrhosis and Portal Hypertension(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/188.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/articles/188.printerview.html
- Esophageal Varices(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/esophageal-varices/DS00820/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
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Hemochromatosis(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hemo/hemo_whatis.html
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JAMA Patient Page: Abdominal Paracentesis(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/299/10/1216.pdf
- Jaundice(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/jaundice.html
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Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/nash/
Also available in Spanish http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/spanish/pubs/nash/
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Liver Cirrhosis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Liver+Cirrhosis%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Efficacy of interferon based antiviral therapy for recurrent hepatitis C... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18698245&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Underlying pathophysiology of HCV infection in HIV-positive drug users. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18681194&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Liver disease in injection drug users with hepatitis C, with... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18681191&tool=MedlinePlus
- Cirrhosis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=liver+cirrhosis[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+systematic[sb]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt]))&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- American Gastroenterological Association - http://www.gastro.org/
- American Liver Foundation - http://www.liverfoundation.org/
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National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/
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Deaths from Cirrhosis of the Liver(National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) - http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/Resources/DatabaseResources/QuickFacts/Liver/default.htm
- FASTATS: Chronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/liverdis.htm
- What Is Cirrhosis?(Children's Liver Association for Support Services) - http://www.classkids.org/library/cirrhosis.htm
- Gallbladder Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/gallbladderdiseases.html
- Liver Cancer - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/livercancer.html
- Liver Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/liverdiseases.html
- Liver Transplantation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/livertransplantation.html
- Digestive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/digestivesystem.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Cirrhosis is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/