Cirrhosis is a disease characterized by a gradual replacement of healthy tissue of the liver nodules and fibrous tissue (fibrosis) that alter gradually liver function. This is a serious and progressive disease. Cirrhosis is often the result of chronic liver disease, for example, due to excessive use of alcohol or virus infection (hepatitis B or C). This inflammation or persistent causes this damage, which results in few or no symptoms for a long time, eventually leads to irreversible cirrhosis, which destroys the liver cells. Cirrhosis is the advanced stage of chronic diseases of the liver.
In France, the prevalence of cirrhosis is estimated at 2 000 to 3 300 cases per million population (0.2 to 0.3%) and estimated that there are 150 to 200 new cases per million people each year. In total, about 700 000 people with cirrhosis in France, and we deplore 10,000 to 15,000 deaths per year related to this affection. The global prevalence of the disease is unknown, but it oscillates around the same numbers in North America and Western countries than in France. There is no accurate epidemiological data for Canada, but it is known as cirrhosis kills about 2,600 Canadians each year. This condition is more common in Africa and Asia, and hepatitis B and C have spread diseases and often poorly supported.
When cirrhosis has progressed sufficiently to cause symptoms, they include generally:
To confirm the diagnosis of cirrhosis, a liver biopsy was performed to visualize the fibrotic lesion’s characteristics.
The causes of cirrhosis are diverse; so, the at-risk groups belong to different categories:
Many preventable risk factors are associated with cirrhosis, in particular:
Cirrhosis is an irreversible disease, against which there is no truly effective treatment (except liver transplantation).
We must first deal with the cause of cirrhosis and reduce aggravating factors:
More generally, the High Authority of Health emphasizes the importance of:
In the case of cirrhosis, it is urgent to stop addictive behavior involved or associated with illness. It is particularly important to:
If cirrhosis associated with chronic hepatitis, it is necessary to treat hepatitis:
If cirrhosis advanced and threatens the life of the person, the only possible treatment is liver transplantation (or liver transplant). This is risky, however, and organ waiting times are long, at least 1 to 2 years in France and North America.
Cirrhosis is a serious and progressive disease, and diagnosis inevitably has psychological repercussions. If it deems necessary, cirrhosis of person able to receive psychological support.
The new liver cancer factor is NAFLD. The increase in liver cancer associated with obesity and diabetes has become the main factor for years. But the mere fact of being overweight does not necessarily make you a candidate for liver cancer, the doctors noted. “Even if there are many obese people in North America, liver cancer is still relatively rare. Still, the more you risk, the more you should worry and talk to your doctor.
Most people suffering from liver cancer experience pain in the upper abdomen, the doctor said: “When I look at an asymptomatic patient, the patient said he was hurt when I press on the liver,”. Pain in this region does not necessarily indicate liver cancer – this could also be hepatitis or a problem of the spleen or pancreas.
“A loss of weight or appetite is a common symptom in people who suffer from a lot of different diseases, including some cancers and viruses,”. Sudden weight drop does not necessarily indicate cancer, but still, make sure to ask your doctor if the other symptoms you observed related or not this type of cancer.
Other factors can increase the risk of liver cancer, including your health history. Moreover, people who suffered from hepatitis C can develop liver cancer ten years after their diagnosis. And although it has no link with hepatitis C, hepatitis B can also cause this type of cancer. North American children are vaccinated at birth, but people who have not been could contract liver cancer, Every person with hepatitis is monitored by a doctor, he said. He recommended undergoing at least one ultrasound per year to determine if you have cancer or a virus. To test for the presence of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the blood may also help detect this cancer if other tests showed nothing.
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