Autoimmune hepatitis disease is a category of an autoimmune disease in which the defence system, which is the immunity system, tends to attack our body cells rather than protecting them and cause some or the other kind of damage. In this disease, the liver is the part of the body which is attacked by the immune system and the inflammation of the liver is caused. This may lead to fatigue and even cirrhosis. This disease affects more women than it affects men. There can be various causes of autoimmune hepatitis disease and the following will give you more information on the same:
Causes of Autoimmune Hepatitis Disease
- This disease of the liver occurs when our immune system mistakes the liver cells for foreign harmful cells and starts attacking them. Doctors all across the world are still not clear about why this happens and like other autoimmune diseases, its cause is still unknown.
Since the real cause and reason for this autoimmune disorder is still not clear, there are certain risk factors which can be watched out for. They are:
- A family history of autoimmune hepatitis disease.
- This disease is generally found to be occurring in females and hence if you are a female then you are likely to get affected by it.
- If you have a history of bacterial or viral infections then it can be considered as another risk factor.
- If you have been using certain medications of the likes of minocycline, then too you might be at a risk of being affected by autoimmune hepatitis disease.
There are some autoimmune diseases or disorders which can result in causing liver diseases. Infact, these disorders are associated with the development of autoimmune hepatitis as well. These disorders are:
- Grave’s disease
- Thyroiditis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Scleroderma
- Ulcerative colitis
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Type 1 diabetes
Complications of Autoimmune Hepatitis Disease
Some complications which are associated with this disorder are:
- Liver failure
- Liver cancer
- Scarring of the liver which is also called cirrhosis
- Enlarged veins in the stomach may also be caused if autoimmune disorder is kept untreated
- There may be accumulation of fluid in the abdomen too
- Increase in the blood pressure in the portal vein which is the vein that supplies blood to the liver.
- Esophagus is another such complication.
