autoimmume hepatitis autoimmume hepatitis
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Posted by
thanbey on November 04, 2000 at 02:26:43:
In Reply to: autoimmume hepatitis posted by scot on November 03, 2000 at 05:41:46:
:
: what is auto immunne hepatitis
Autoimmune Hepatitis - Chronic active hepatitis (CAH), or autoimmune
hepatitis, is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the liver. It
usually occurs by itself, but it can co-exist with other autoimmune diseases,
such as systemic lupus or APL syndrome.
There are other causes of CAH besides autoimmunity. These include hepatic
(liver) allergic reaction to medicinal drugs, alcohol abuse, non-A, non-B
virus infections, and Wilsons disease. What differentiates autoimmune
hepatitis from the types of CAH is the presence of autoantibody markers,
which may vary in titer with disease activity. Such autoantibodies are not
found in the other forms of CAH, particularly CAH associated with alcohol
abuse. The one exception is a type of drug-induced CAH in which
autoantibodies are present; but with the withdrawal of the offending
medicine, the conditions subside. CAH occurs in females eight times as
frequently as in males, most often in the childbearing years. Often the
patient is of Northern European extraction.
thanbey
