30/06/2025
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is advanced scarring of the liver caused by many diseases and conditions, including hepatitis or alcohol use disorder.
Each time the liver is injured — whether by alcohol use disorder or another cause, such as infection — it tries to repair itself. In the process, scar tissue forms. As cirrhosis gets worse, more and more scar tissue forms, making it difficult for the liver to do its job. Advanced cirrhosis is life-threatening.
Symptoms
Cirrhosis often has no symptoms until liver damage is serious. When symptoms do happen, they may include:
Extreme tiredness.
Easily bleeding or bruising.
Loss of appetite.
Nausea.
Swelling in the legs, feet or ankles, called edema.
Weight loss.
Itchy skin.
Yellow discoloration in the skin and eyes, called jaundice.
Fluid buildup in the belly, called ascites (uh-SAHY-teez).
Spiderlike blood vessels on the skin.
Redness in the palms of the hands.
Pale fingernails, especially the thumb and index finger.
Clubbing of the fingers, in which the fingertips spread out and become rounder than usual.
For women, absence of or loss of periods not related to menopause.
For men, loss of s*x drive, testicular shrinkage or breast enlargement, known as gynecomastia.
Confusion, drowsiness or slurred speech.
Causes
A wide range of diseases and conditions can damage the liver and lead to cirrhosis. Some of the causes include:
Long-term alcohol abuse.
Ongoing viral hepatitis (hepatitis B, C and D).
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease — formerly called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease — a condition in which fat builds up in the liver.
Hemochromatosis, a condition that causes iron buildup in the body.
Autoimmune hepatitis, which is a liver disease caused by the body's immune system.
Destruction of the bile ducts caused by primary biliary cholangitis.
Hardening and scarring of the bile ducts caused by primary sclerosing cholangitis.
Wilson's disease, a condition in which copper build up in the liver.
Cystic fibrosis.
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
Poorly formed bile ducts, a condition known as biliary atresia.
Disorders of sugar metabolism, such as galactosemia or glycogen storage disease.
Alagille syndrome