Pancreatic Liver Disorders

According to the American Liver Foundation, more than 25 million people in the United States suffer from liver, bile duct or gallbladder diseases. The liver, the body's largest organ, is responsible for many essential daily functions. While some pancreatic liver disorder is hereditary, it can also result from lifestyle choices. Liver dysfunction is a serious threat to health and requires medical diagnosis, care and detailed follow-up.

Types

• Several types of pancreatic liver disorders exist. Chronic liver disease (or cirrhosis) is a slow process where the liver deteriorates over a long period of time. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, this is the 12th leading cause of adult death in the United States. Alcohol-induced liver disease is caused by extreme consumption of alcohol, which overwhelms the liver. It causes fat cells to accumulate inside the liver and the organ becomes inflamed. Other pancreatic liver disorders include cancers/tumors such as hepatocellular adenoma, hepatoma and hemangioma.

Symptoms

• Pancreatic liver disorder is identified by several key symptoms: jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes); cholestasis (blocked bile flow resulting in pale stools or dark urine, chills, enlarged gallbladder); an enlarged liver; ascites (fluid buildup in the abdominal cavity) accompanied by portal hypertension (high blood pressure in the portal vein); and liver encephalopathy (deteriorated brain functioning due to toxic substances in the blood).

Diagnosis

• Several procedures are performed to diagnose pancreatic liver disorder. Tissue samples may be removed from the liver and examined under a microscope during a biopsy. Less invasive procedures include an X-ray and ultrasound, used to determine blood flow to the organ. A combination of X-ray and invasive procedure is the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, where the physician guides a long scope through the patient's esophagus and then feeds a digestible dye into the stomach. The dye is absorbed and flows to the organs, which may be viewed via X-ray.

Tests for Severity

• A number of tests that may be conducted to determine the state of liver disorder. The 5'-nucleotidase test can determine whether a person's 5'- nucleotidase level is elevated (it will be in patients with liver disorder). A gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase test is performed to measure the liver's functioning and detect how alcohol is absorbed throughout the body. The prothrombin time test (or PTT) measures blood clotting, a process that requires the liver to produce a special protein. If blood is not clotting properly, it may be a sign of the beginning stages of liver disorder.

Significance

• Pancreatic liver disorders are a serious threat to the body's normal functioning. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, the liver is involved with over 500 bodily functions. It is intricately involved with regulation of waste product and blood flow (all the blood leaving the intestines and stomach passes through the liver), including creating proteins for blood plasma, helping resist infection by producing immunities, converting excess glucose into glycerin, clearing the blood of drugs and processing hemoglobin for iron.

Treatment

• Damage from chronic liver disease is irreversible, but may be treated with supplements, vitamins and a possible transplant. In livers damaged by alcohol-induced liver disease, if alcohol consumption is ceased, the liver may be able to repair much of the damage itself.