Is liver damage reversible?!


Question: Is liver damage reversible?
How much damage do you have to do before it becomes irreversible?

Answers:

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Some minor damage may be reversible in some cases but not major damage.

If you improve your lifestyle you can certainly slow down further deterioration.



Inflammation (something actively bothering the liver) can lead to fibrosis which is abnormal fibrous bands in the liver. As time goes on and if the inflammation continues, more and more fibrosis forms. As even more time goes by, the liver cells begin to die and scar tissue begins to form which is called cirrhosis.

The liver can repair itself in the fibrosis stage if you are able to stop the inflammation. If it reaches the stage of cirrhosis, this is permanent scar tissue damage that does not go away. This scar tissue will block the blood flow in the liver making it not able to function like it should. In time, it can lead to total liver failure. Once the damage reaches a certain point, the disease will progress no matter what you do to stop it. The only cure for cirrhosis is a liver transplant.

The important thing is to stop the inflammation and stop it before it becomes cirrhosis. That means that if alcohol is causing the problem, then the person must stop drinking. Too much iron in the body called hemochromatosis can cause cirrhosis. These people have to get blood taken from them routinely to keep the iron count low. Viral hepatitis such as A, B, C, and D can cause cirrhosis. Sometimes it is not possible to stop the inflammation such as an autoimmune disease or primary biliary cirrhosis which is when the autoimmune system attacks the bile ducts in the liver destroying it.

It usually takes many years of inflammation, even decades in some cases, before the liver will be destroyed and unable to function any longer.

I had cirrhosis and a liver transplant.



PPC (polyenylphosphatidylcholine) is the only thing I've heard of that can reverse fibrosis without dangerous side effects.

Polyenylphosphatidylcholine prevents carbon tetrachloride-induced lipid peroxidation while it attenuates liver fibrosis
Journal of Hepatology, Volume 27, Issue 3, Pages 554-561
S.Aleynik

Abstract
Background/Aims: Polyenylphosphatidylcholine protects against alcoholic cirrhosis in the baboon. This study assesses whether the antifibrotic effect also pertains to a species other than the baboon and to agents other than alcohol.

Methods: Rats were injected with either CC14 (carbon tetrachloride) in peanut oil or peanut oil alone, and pair-fed nutritionally adequate liquid diets, with or without polyenylphosphatidylcholine. Other rats were injected with heterologous albumin instead of CC14. To assess whether polyenylphosphatidylcholine is active on established fibrosis, rats were also given CC14 for 8 weeks, and then divided into two groups and pair-fed a diet with or without polyenylphosphatidylcholine.

Results: After 8 weeks of CC14, the animals were sacrificed; chromotrope aniline blue and Sirius red stains of liver revealed fibrosis or cirrhosis in animals given CC14 alone, whereas the effect was attenuated in the polyenylphosphatidylcholine-supplemented animals. Hepatic collagen content was decreased by 25 to 32% (p<0.05) and serum ALT and AST were significantly less increased. The expression of liver collagen type I mRNA was significantly increased in CC14 treated rats and was not significantly affected by polyenylphosphatidylcholine although there was a trend towards a lesser increase. Polyenylphosphatidylcholine also attenuated liver fibrosis produced by the injection of heterologous albumin. CC14-induced liver fibrosis regressed more rapidly in polyenylphosphatidylcholine-treated animals than controls, both histologically and by measurement of collagen (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Polyenylphosphatidylcholine (a) attenuates hepatic fibrosis induced by CC14 or human albumin in rats; and accelerates the regression of pre-existing fibrosis.



As far as I have read it isn't reversible.
HOWEVER what isn't ruined will stay o.k. unlike a spreading cancer.
So stop the use of liver destroying drugs and alcohol and you should be o.k. as your good liver cells will get healthier.
Best of luck to you.
Be real careful big pharmaceutical companies are selling terrible stuff that will destroy your liver read read read.



My understanding is that the liver has great restorative capability. Even so I would not test it. You can't live without your liver.




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