Acute Liver Failure

Author: Dr Tim Davern California Pacific Medical Center 2008-08-12

Acute Liver Failure: Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare, potentially devastating syndrome characterized by the abrupt collapse of liver function and hepatic encephalopathy, which is a sine qua non of the syndrome. The prognosis without urgent liver transplant is often grim. This knol reviews the various causes of ALF, its symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.

Hepatic Encephalopathy

Author: Dr Tim Davern California Pacific Medical Center 2008-08-12

What is hepatic encephalopathy?

Hepatic encephalopathy is a potentially reversible disturbance of brain function due to liver (hepatic) failure. The syndrome is characterized by a broad spectrum of neuropsychiatric derangements including personality changes, intellectual impairment, and a depressed level of consciousness, and appears to be the result of neurotoxins that accumulate with liver failure.  Ammonia, which is usually metabolized by the liver, is a critical neurotoxin in the development of hepatic encephalopathy, but other toxins are also involved. The neuropsychiatric manifestations of hepatic encephalopathy are reversible with appropriate medical therapy, but the syndrome is a hallmark of advanced, decompensated liver disease and has an overall poor prognosis. Thus, certain patients with hepatic encephalopathy should be referred for liver transplantation.

Drug-induced hepatitis

Author: Dr Tim Davern California Pacific Medical Center 2009-05-14

What is drug-induced hepatitis?

Drug-induced hepatitis, also known as hepatoxicity, refers to liver injury caused by drugs or other chemical agents and represents a special type of adverse reaction. The condition is called many things, but the one that experts currently favor is drug-induced liver injury (DILI); this is the term that will be used throughout this article. In addition, the generic term “drugs” shall be used to encompass the entire range of potentially injurious agents, also called hepatoxins.

Liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma)

Author: Dr Tim Davern California Pacific Medical Center 2008-10-05

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an increasingly recognized complication of cirrhosis. This article briefly reviews the epidemiology of HCC, its diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.