Can liver disease be cured? Know the right treatments

Liver disease is a general term that refers to any condition affecting your liver. These conditions  may develop for different reasons, but they can all damage your liver and affect its function. 

Whether liver diseases will be cured or not depends on the types and stages of the diseases. Some  liver diseases can be cured with the right treatments, and some can be slowed down through a  changing lifestyle, following strict diet and taking appropriate medication. 

Here is a brief overview of the liver 

Liver is the largest solid organ in the body. It is a radish brown colored organ located in the upper   right part of the belly (abdomen).  

What are the functions of the liver? 

• The liver is an essential organ of the body that performs over 500 vital functions . It controls most  chemical levels in the blood. Here are some of its most important functions; 
• Makes bile, a clear yellow or orange which helps to break down fats, preparing them for further digestion and absorption.  
• Makes certain proteins(Albumin) for blood plasma 
• Makes cholesterol and special proteins to help carry fats through the body ∙ Stores and releases glucose as needed 
• Processes hemoglobin to use its iron content (the liver stores iron) 
• Changes harmful ammonia to urea (urea is one of the end products of protein metabolism that  is excreted in the urine) 
• Clears the blood of medicines and other harmful substances 
• Regulates blood clotting 
• Fights infections by making immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream 
• Clears bilirubin (an orange-yellow pigment formed in the liver by the breakdown  of hemoglobin and excreted in bile .) as too much bilirubin makes skin and eyes turn yellow.

Know about the causes of liver disease

Liver diseases can happen for different reasons. Some causes are mentionable, Viral infections: Parasites and viruses can infect the liver (Hepatitis), causing inflammation that   reduces liver function. There are 5 main strains of the hepatitis virus, referred to as type A, B, C,  D and E. 

Immune system attacks: An autoimmune liver disease results from the immune system attacking  liver cells. This attack on your liver can lead to chronic inflammation and serious damage to liver  cells. 3 most common Autoimmune liver diseases are, 

• Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) 
• Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC)  
• Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) 

Genetics/Inherited liver diseases: An abnormal gene inherited from one or both of your parents  can cause various substances to build up in your liver, resulting in liver damage. Genetic liver diseases include: 

• Hemochromatosis 
• Wilson's disease 
• Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency 

Cancer: When the cells in the liver grow abnormally, liver cancer starts. Examples include:

• Liver cancer 
• Bile duct cancer 
• Liver adenoma 

Toxins Food: Some toxins in food are also responsible for liver diseases, such as fat, alcohol, and  too much-refined sugar, soda, pastries, candy, and high-fructose corn syrup.  Oxidative Stress: Oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in our  body where the number of antioxidant is lower than the free radicals, the extra free radicals forms  large chain and causes different types of reaction called oxidation. Oxidative stress within the   mitochondria is also connected with an inflammatory process in the liver. Improper metabolism of   ROS ( Reactive Oxygen Species) results in the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha,   which increases TNF (Tumor Nacrosis Factor) secretion, leading to an immune response that   intensifies the liver injury.

When diagnosis is Important?  

Warning signs includes : Yellowing of the eyes or skin, Pale-colored stool, Pain and distention of  the abdomen, Confusion or forgetfulness, Dark-colored urine, swelling of the lower legs. 

Diagnosis is must after these symptoms.  

Tests crucial to finding out about liver damage? 

• Blood tests:  A group of blood tests called liver function tests can be used to diagnose liver  disease. Other blood tests can be done to look for specific liver problems or genetic  conditions. 
• Imaging tests:  An ultrasound, CT scan and MRI can show liver damage. 
• Checking a tissue sample:  Removing a tissue sample (biopsy) from your liver may help  diagnose liver disease and look for signs of liver damage. A liver biopsy is most often done  using a long needle inserted through the skin to extract a tissue sample that's sent to a lab  for testing. 

What are the right ways to manage, treat and cure liver diseases? 

Prevention is always better than cure. You can prevent liver disease by, Vaccinations: This vaccination helps protect against viruses and reduces the risk of liver disease. Vaccine for liver diseases are hepatitis A and B .  

Changing Lifestyle:  

By changing lifestyle one can slow down liver disease. These might include:

• limiting alcohol 
• Maintaining a moderate weight 
• Drinking more water 
• Adopting a liver-friendly diet that includes plenty of fiber while avoiding unhealthy fats,  refined sugar, and salt.

If one is diagnosed with liver disease, he or she can take a number of steps to improve their  condition. Such as, 

Change in diet: 

Dietary changes for liver disease may involves: 

• Reducing the amount of animal protein you eat. This will help limit the buildup of toxic  waste products. 
• Eating fruits and vegetables and lean protein such as legumes, poultry, and fish. ∙ Limiting your salt intake. Salt in the diet may worsen fluid buildup and swelling in the  liver. 
• Keep yourself hydrated as water helps eliminate toxins, Prevents Dehydration, Supports  Digestion, Prevents kidney complications, Enhances medication absorption. 

Taking Functional Food  

The term functional foods is used to describe foods or food ingredients that provide health benefits  beyond meeting basic nutrition needs .  

As we mentioned earlier, Oxidative stress has been considered a key causing factor of liver   disease.  

A potential functional food is Curcumin , Curcumins are the bio active component of Curcuma   longa (turmeric). It contains a variety of functional antioxidant groups, including the β-diketo   group, carbon-carbon double bonds and phenyl rings. Curcumin can thus eliminate lipid radicals   in the cell membrane and become a phenoxyl radical, so it is considered a very strong lipid-soluble   antioxidant. Furthermore, curcumin was found to inhibit lipid peroxidation and neutralize ROS   (superoxide, peroxyl, hydroxyl radicals) and RNS (nitric oxide and peroxynitrite)  

Curcumin also improves NAFLD ( Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) through some  mechanisms, first of all, it removes fat from liver and decreases synthesis of triglyceride (TG) by  inhibiting HMG-COA reductase, and the second reason is that it decreases the absorption of  cholesterol from intestine and also increases the activation of cholesterol-7alpha-hydroxilase,  thereby improves lipid profiles like: Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and decreases the risk of  cardiovascular diseases.

Medications  

There are very few medicatios to manage liver damage. Some of them are, Lactulose, Rifaximin,  Propranolol, carvedilol, Prednisolone and Thiamine.  

Final Treatment of Liver Disease:  

Liver transplantation: