Chronic Liver Failure & End-stage Liver Disease (ESLD)

What are the causes of chronic liver disease?

• Alcohol abuse
• Chronic viral infection of the liver by hepatitis B and C
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease occurs associated with fatty liver and diabetes, not alcohol.
• Genetic causes, such as:
  • Hemochromatosis, which is an increase in total body iron
  • Alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency is the most common genetic cause among children.
  • Wilson’s disease, which is excess copper in the liver
  • Cystic fibrosis: thick mucus in the liver and bile ducts
  • Glycogen storage disease in which the liver can’t breakdown or store glycogen
• Autoimmune causes, such as:
  • Primary biliary cirrhosis damages and blocks bile ducts in the liver.
  • Primary sclerosing cholangitis narrows the bile ducts of the liver.
  • Autoimmune hepatitis in which your immune system attacks your healthy liver cells
• Drugs overdose and exposure to toxins damage your liver.