The basis of Liver
Disease
Most of the problems with most liver diseases are caused by
chronic inflammation caused by viruses (Hep C and Hep B) excessive
alcohol consumption, and increasingly, "fatty liver"
with inflammation - "steatohepatitis" and the "fibrosis"
in the liver that slows the flow of blood and bile and slowly
replaces healthy liver cells "hepatocytes" with a
"do nothing" tissue called collagen. Collagen is what
calluses are made of and it is what female movie stars have
pumped into their lips - looks good on the stars lips, does
nothing good for your liver.
Good evidence shows that if you can stop the inflammation:
get rid of the viruses or stop the alcohol, or stop the fat
accumulation, the fibrosis can get better. Although viral
hepatitis is often a misunderstood and unrecognized disease,
the bottom line for people that are infected is that research
is continuing and the future looks bright.
The main thing we want people with hepatitis to know is that
we have made tremendous progress in the past ten years, both
diagnostically and therapeutically. And we've had remarkable
progress in therapy, both for hepatitis B and C, and there's
other drugs around the corner.
The experiences of others in
their own words, in differing situations.
We would like to be able to put you in contact with
other liver transplant recipients to unload your worries and
fears and hopefully reassure. The editor would welcome your
experiences of how the prospect of liver transplantation affected
you and any queries that you would like answered from someone
who has been there. We would also like to hear from you who
wish to take part and tell a short part of your story to others.
If there are relatives of liver donors that would like to
be involved in any way, to tell their story and express their
opinions, we would also like to hear from you. We encourage
all who wish to play a part in this site and have their say
in a compassionate and genuine way that will not offend others.
We look forward to your comments and stories that will help
others and possibly yourself.
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