Types
Many types of liver disease can lead to cirrhosis:
- Alcoholic cirrhosis. Excess alcohol consumption damages the liver.
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Scarring occurs when liver cells store excess fatty acids.
- Hepatitis-related cirrhosis. Scarring results from chronic viral infections of the liver such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
- Cryptogenic cirrhosis. Scarring has no obvious cause.
- Primary biliary cirrhosis. The immune system attacks cells lining the bile ducts in the liver.
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis. The bile ducts become swollen and scarred, causing them to become blocked.
- Secondary biliary cirrhosis. Damage results from injury to the bile ducts.
- Genetic liver diseases.
- Hemochromatosis. Abnormal iron metabolism causes iron buildup in the liver (and other organs), resulting in scarring.
- Wilson's disease. Abnormal copper metabolism causes copper buildup in the liver (and other organs), resulting in scarring.
- Alpha-1-antitrypsin. The liver produces an abnormal protein that builds up and can cause cirrhosis.
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