Hepatitis is a group of diseases in which the liver becomes inflamed. Its causes are varied. Viruses are the most common causes of hepatitis. Alcohol or a poor diet can also cause inflammation. Find out what types of hepatitis are and what is responsible for their development.
Hepatitisis a group of liver diseases that connects liver inflammation and related characteristic symptoms, such as fever, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, dark beer appearance), enlarged liver and pain under the right costal arch. The accompanying symptoms are apathy, fatigue as well as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.
Due to the causes of hepatitis, there are autoimmune, toxic (the most common of which are alcoholic), viral and bacterial.
Due to the course of inflammation, there areacute(sudden and rapid) andchronic(characterized by a slower pace of growth and prolonged duration of the symptoms described) hepatitis. Chronic inflammation is most often the result of a previous acute inflammatory process or toxic liver damage.
Autoimmune hepatitis
Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the liver parenchyma that results from the aggression of cells of the immune system against liver cells. The reasons for this process are unknown. Often there is a coexistence of other autoimmune diseases, including: thyroiditis, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis.
Alcoholic Hepatitis
The liver is the organ where the main location of the absorbed toxic substances takes place. Therefore, excessive contact with these substances may lead to toxic changes in the cells of the liver parenchyma with the syndrome of symptoms of liver failure. The most common toxic substance that causes liver poisoning is alcohol, which causes alcoholic hepatitis. The disease usually affects heavy alcoholics.
The mild form of the disease gives the liver a chance to regenerate. In turn, severe form can lead to cirrhosisliver, fulminant liver failure, and even death. To prevent this from happening, you should first stop drinking alcohol. A high-energy diet is also important.
Hepatitis - poisoning with other toxins
In addition to alcohol, toxic substances also include drugs, pesticides, gases, chemical dust, poisonous fungi, food products of synthetic origin, chemically preserved, moldy, fermented, etc. Their excess can also lead to the development of liver inflammation.
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NAFLD) is a disease in which fat is deposited in hepatocytes, the cells of the liver. It is most often diagnosed in overweight and obese people (the probability of finding fatty tissue is as high as 60%), in patients with diabetes, especially type II, and in people with lipid metabolism disorders (dyslipidemia).
Viral hepatitis
There are two types of viruses that can lead to liver inflammation:
1. Hepatotropic viruses (after entering the body, the liver cells become infected first). Currently, six viral agents that primarily damage the liver are known:
- hepatitis A virus (HAV)
- hepatitis B virus (HBV)
- hepatitis C virus (HCV)
- hepatitis D virus (HDV)
- hepatitis E virus (HEV)
- hepatitis G virus (HGV)
2. Viruses that are responsible for other diseases, incl. varicella-zoster viruses, cytomegaloviruses, herpes simplex viruses - type 1 and type 2 or the Epstein-Barr virus. They cause hepatitis in some people, e.g. immunosuppressed.
Bacterial hepatitis - abscess
A liver abscess is a single or multiple nodular inflammation of the liver containing purulent fluid. Disease caused by pyogenic bacteria (the most common bacteria areKlebsiella, Streptococcus, Psudomonas and Eschericha coli ).
A liver abscess is usually a complication of bacterial inflammation in the abdomen. It may be the result of a secondary infection from a previous traumatic hematoma or a parasitic cyst. Infection can also be caused by the penetration of bacteria into the liver parenchyma through lymphatic vessels, through the bloodstream or from infected intrahepatic bile ducts.