Liver Spots

Have you ever heard of the skin problem known as liver spots? Contrary to what was once believed by many, this case is not related physiologically to the liver per se. The name was actually derived from the said organ due to its color, which is similar to that of the liver.

Also known as solar lentigos, lentigo senilis or simply lentigos, liver spots appear as blemishes seen on the skin. They are basically caused by aging, but also due to exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun. The latter terms are based from these particular causes of the said skin problem.

The spots show in different colors ranging from light brown to black or, in other cases reddish or grayish. They are usually located in parts of the body that is most of the time exposed to the rays of the sun, specifically the head when the person is bald, forehead, shoulders, arms, and hands.
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Higher Liver Enzymes

Sometimes, even healthy people who least expect encountering health problems can be taken by surprise of having illnesses that hide underneath their seemingly fit bodies. The human liver, as one of the vital organs of the human body can encounter some of the most lethal diseases man can encounter.

While other diseases in other parts of the body may cause most diseases of the liver, what is known as higher liver enzymes is a symptom of damage or even inflammation in the liver. When the liver is inflamed, the injured cells cause leakage of some chemicals, particularly enzymes higher than what should be normal excretions.

The leaking enzymes and chemicals can flow into the bloodstream, which results to the elevation of the liver enzymes. Blood tests reveal this specific problem. This particular irregularity in the enzyme secretion is not a major problem in itself. Other liver function tests also detect increase in liver enzyme secretion, even though mild and temporary.
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End Stage Liver Disease

The rapid deterioration of one of the most vital organs of the body, known as the liver, results to many complications. This medical condition is called end stage liver disease. Also known as acute liver failure or ALF, it may be considered an uncommon state of an individual due to the duration of the organ’s failure to function well.

There are a lot of symptoms for this kind of condition that is similar to other health problems. That includes fatigue, abdominal pains and swelling, nausea or vomiting, loss of appetite, drowsiness, restlessness and confusion. However, some of the alarming and distinctive signs of having ALF include jaundice, wherein the skin and eyes have discoloration that often yellowish, as well as the person’s mucous membrane.

Other patients may develop brain disorders as waste products tend to develop in the blood, due to the irregularity and abnormal function and filtering of the liver. Others experience pruritus or even coma. When gastrointestinal bleeding occurs due to enlarged veins in the esophagus known as varices, the illness progresses at a faster rate.
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Liver Enzymes

You probably heard it first in your high school health class: “Drinking and smoking too much are bad for your health.” If you listened to your health class teacher, you should know by now that engaging in too much alcohol intake can lead to serious problems such as liver damage.

It turns out that their arguments for good health are also persuasive reasons to help prevent liver problems. Most of these problems are asymptomatic or do not manifest symptoms. Hence, one of the most important tests to be conducted to diagnose liver problem is blood tests to detect elevated liver enzymes.

Doctors say that it is best to cut down on alcohol now before you find it is too late. Alcohol may make you feel relaxed, but it triggers liver damage and the effects can be pretty uppity.
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Elevated Liver Enzymes

Have you discovered the hard truth that you are what you eat? One of the many diseases that demonstrate unhealthy diet and lifestyle is the liver disease. This can be pretty alarming because people with liver problems may experience complications that are often lethal or incapacitating and treating them can be really difficult.

Among the most important of the many complications that accompany liver problems are severe gastrointestinal hemorrhages and excessive water retention with ascites and edema.

The result of circulatory changes within the diseased liver leading to portal hypertension; impairment of the central and peripheral nervous systems and abnormal bleeding tendencies, attributable to the inability of malfunctioning liver cells to metabolize certain vitamins; and hepatic coma, reflecting the incomplete metabolism of protein fragments by the diseased liver.
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Cirrhosis of the Liver

The liver is a large organ, weighing about 1,500 grams or 3 lbs. Most of it is located behind the ribs in the upper right-hand portion of the abdominal cavity. It is made up of numerous small units called lobules, each just large enough to be visible with the naked eye and all similar in size, shape and function. Each lobule has somewhat the shape of a thimble. It is composed of liver cells and vessels.

The functions of the liver are numerous and varied. However, with so much work, the liver especially when left unattended or unmanaged can bring about different diseases. The complications of liver diseases, just like its functions, are numerous and varied, too. In many instances, their ultimate effects are incapacitating or lethal; their beginning is threatening, and their treatment is infamously difficult.

One of the most threatening liver problems is the cirrhosis of the liver. This pertains to the scarring of the liver, which takes place after the normal liver cells have been damaged.
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Fatty Liver Symptoms

When your liver cells have accumulated too much fatty acids and triglycerides, you have a condition known as non-alcoholic steatorrhoeic hepatosis or simply fatty liver. If it is plainly huge deposits of fats in your liver cells, it is steatosis.

If it is already inflamed, it is known as steatothepatitis. Generally, these types of liver problems are caused by excessive alcohol intake, but in some cases, it takes place even in the absence of alcohol.

It is no fun to acquire fatty liver, especially if you cannot even detect if you have one. One of the most disturbing facts about this particular liver disease is that its patients are usually asymptomatic or do not manifest fatty liver symptoms.
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Fatty Liver Disease

Situated securely beneath the diaphragm in the upper right side of torso, the liver is your silent buddy in health protection. Bigger than any other internal organ, even larger than your brain, your liver carry out more than 500 jobs.

One of its primary roles is to strain your blood, cleansing out anything that might be damaging or dangerous such as toxins or alcohol. After which, it gets rid of those toxins by converting them over for waste disposal.

Liver cells play a key role in the metabolism of fatty acids and ketone bodies; and they prepare for the body, store for it and supply it with numerous other essential substances. One such material is necessary for the normal development of the immature red blood cells in the bone marrow.
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