Liver Functions

• detoxification

• Metabolism

• Immune system

• protein synthesis

  • blood clotting factor

• production of bile

  • Gi anti-microbial

• Blood sugar balance

  • storage of glycogen

• Storage of Micronutrients

• production cholesterol

• conjugation: hepatocytes combine bilirubin( produces by red blood cells) with glucuronic acid to make it water soluble

  • excretes in the intestine → poop + urine and gives it the color

Symptoms of Chronic Liver Failure

• Encephalopathy → toxification of blood→ body

• build filled belly → ascites

  • increased pressure in the portal vein cause fluid to leak from blood vessels into the peritoneal cavity and cause edema → fluid-filled belly

    • treatment:

      • build a bypass

      • paracentesis (removal of the fluid from the abdomen with a needle)

      • liver transplant

• increased bleeding

  • low platelets and clotting factor

• eyes turn yellow → jaundice → icterus

  • hemoglobin breakdown → bilirubin

  • first in the eyes because its the whitest and very fatty

  • classification of different types of jaundice

• portal hypertension

  • increased blood flow due to resistance (fibrosis)

• variceal bleeding

  • due to portal hypertension blood vessels in the esophagus and stomach become enlarged and weakened ( looking like worms) → they can explode

  • shunting

• red hand palms

• spider (rashes)

• edema

• bilateral enlargement of breast tissue

• bleeding

  • low amounts of platelets because they are stored in liver

  • pressure on the venus system

  • liver makes clotting factor → less clotting factors in bloody

    • too many blood cells

    • stones in are in duct * turn yellow * the stool is less yellow

• Gynecomastia: bilateral enlargement if the male breast tissue

  • in liver failure

  • the liver fails to metabolize estrogen, this hormonal imbalance causes the breast development

• Jaundice

  • Three types:

• 

• Why is jaundice more common in babies?

  • they have higher red blood cells than adults

  • the life span of erythrocytes is shorter( different hemoglobin)

  • the liver is not as good at conjugation yet

  • bowel movements are slower in babies than in adults

  • Treatment:

    • Phototherapy: UV lights make bilirubin water soluble

Hepatitis

• most common cause of hepatitis and progression?

  • Viral infection → becoming chronic

  • hepatitis a+b+c+d +e

  • 

Hepatitis Virus

• symptoms for liver infection?

  • → same as liver failure symptoms

Characteristics:

Target Areas for Antiviral Medication

• Inhibit the virus from invading the host by not letting the virus produce proteins that help them evade the immune system

• prevent viral assembly of proteins by inhibiting viral enzymes involved in the process of replication

• genome replication

• polyprotein processing

• attachment to the cells

• inhibition in the assembly process of virus

• inhibition of molecular structure