Chronic Liver Diseases Flashcards
What is the minimum clinical duration for chronic liver disease?
6 months
What is the outcome for chronic liver disease?
Progression to cirrhosis
What is the pathology of chronic liver disease?
Recurrent inflammation and repair with fibrosis and regeneration
What is the flow of chronic liver disease?
Cause ->
Recurrent inflammation, process of fibrosis ->
Compensated cirrhosis ->
Decompensated cirrhosis, chronic liver failure, acute on chronic liver failure
The activation of which cells initiates fibrosis?
Hepatic stellate cells
What activates the quiescent hepatic stellate cells?
Inflammatory cells
What would usually happen to an activated hepatic stellate cell?
Resolution =
Becomes apoptotic
What prevents the apoptosis of activated hepatic stellate cells?
TIMP
What is NAFLD?
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Fatty liver or steato-hepatitis in the absence of other causes
Fat only
What is NASH?
Non-Alcoholic Steato-Hepatitis
Fat and inflammation
What is the “two hit paradigm” for the pathogenesis of NASH?
1st Hit = Excess fat accumulation
2nd Hit = Intrahepatic oxidative stress
What can cause the “second hit” for the pathogenesis of NASH?
Oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation
Pro-inflmmatory cytokine release (TNFa)
Lipopolysaccharide
Ischaemia-reperfusion injury
What is the one hit hypothesis for the pathogenesis of NASH?
aka Skinny NASH
Triglyceride benign
Hepatocytes can generate TNFa
Oxidative stress at centre of disease
What are the risk factors for NAFLD/NASH?
Metabolic syndrome = Type II diabetes, obesity, low HDL, hypertension, triglycerides
Insulin resistance is universal
What is the management for NAFLD - simple steatosis?
Diagnosis = US Risks = Increased CVD, no progression of liver problems Treatment = Weight loss and exercise
What is the management for NAFLD - NASH?
Diagnosis = Liver biopsy Risks = Progression to cirrhosis Treatment = Weight loss, exercise, experimental treatments
What are the auto-immune liver diseases?
Primary Biliary Cholangitis (Cirrhosis) Auto-immune Hepatitis Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Alcohol related liver disease Drug reactions
What is the immunological aetiology of primary biliary cholangitis?
T cell mediated
CD4 cells reactive to M2 target
What immunological components are the hallmark of primary biliary cholangitis?
Antimitochondrial antibodies
What is the pathogenesis of primary biliary cholangitis?
Interlobular bile ducts are damaged by chronic autoimmune granulomatous inflammation
This causes cholestasis which may lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis and portal hypertension
What are the symptoms of primary biliary cholangitis?
Usually asymptomatic
Fatigue
Itch without a rash
Xanthesalma and xanthomas
In which group is primary biliary cholangitis more common?
Middle aged women
What is needed for a diagnosis of primary biliary cholangitis?
2 from:
Positive AMAs
Cholestatic LFTs
Liver Biopsy
What is the treatment for primary biliary cholangitis?
Urseo deoxyxcholic acid
What is autoimmune hepatitis?
Inflammatory liver disease of unknown cause characterised by suppressor T cell defects with autoantibodies directed against hepatocyte surface antigens