antimitochondrial

Your liver makes a digestive juice called bile. Your gallbladder stores it between meals. When you eat, your gallbladder pushes the bile into tubes called bile ducts. They carry the bile to your small intestine. The bile helps break down fat. It also helps the liver get rid of toxins and wastes.

Different diseases can block the bile ducts and cause a problem with the flow of bile:

• Gallstones, which can increase pressure in the gallbladder and cause a gallbladder attack. The pain usually lasts from one to several hours.
• Cancer
• Infections
• Birth defects, such as biliary atresia. It is the most common reason for liver transplants in children in the United States.
• Inflammation, which can cause scarring. Over time, this can lead to liver failure.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver. Scar tissue forms because of injury or long-term disease. Scar tissue cannot do what healthy liver tissue does - make protein, help fight infections, clean the blood, help digest food and store energy. Cirrhosis can lead to :

• Easy bruising or bleeding, or nosebleeds
• Swelling of the abdomen or legs
• Extra sensitivity to medicines
• High blood pressure in the vein entering the liver
• Enlarged veins called varices in the esophagus and stomach. Varices can bleed suddenly.
• Kidney failure
• Jaundice
• Severe itching
• Gallstones

A small number of people with cirrhosis get liver cancer.

Your doctor will diagnose cirrhosis with blood tests, imaging tests, or a biopsy.

Cirrhosis has many causes. In the United States, the most common causes are chronic alcoholism and hepatitis. Nothing will make the scar tissue disappear, but treating the cause can keep it from getting worse. If too much scar tissue forms, you may need to consider a liver transplant.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons.

There are many kinds of liver diseases:

• Diseases caused by viruses, such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C
• Diseases caused by drugs, poisons, or too much alcohol. Examples include fatty liver disease and cirrhosis.
• Liver cancer
• Inherited diseases, such as hemochromatosis and Wilson disease

Symptoms of liver disease can vary, but they often include swelling of the abdomen and legs, bruising easily, changes in the color of your stool and urine, and jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and eyes. Sometimes there are no symptoms. Tests such as imaging tests and liver function tests can check for liver damage and help to diagnose liver diseases.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease. This means that your immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues by mistake. This can damage many parts of the body, including the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain.

There are several kinds of lupus:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common type. It can be mild or severe and can affect many parts of the body.
• Discoid lupus causes a red rash that doesn't go away
• Subacute cutaneous lupus causes sores after being out in the sun
• Drug-induced lupus is caused by certain medicines. It usually goes away when you stop taking the medicine.
• Neonatal lupus, which is rare, affects newborns. It is probably caused by certain antibodies from the mother.

The cause of lupus is unknown.

Anyone can get lupus, but women are most at risk. Lupus is two to three times more common in African American women than in white women. It's also more common in Hispanic, Asian, and Native American women. African American and Hispanic women are more likely to have severe forms of lupus.

Lupus can have many symptoms, and they differ from person to person. Some of the more common ones are:

• Pain or swelling in joints
• Muscle pain
• Fever with no known cause
• Red rashes, most often on the face (also called the "butterfly rash")
• Chest pain when taking a deep breath
• Hair loss
• Pale or purple fingers or toes
• Sensitivity to the sun
• Swelling in legs or around eyes
• Mouth ulcers
• Swollen glands
• Feeling very tired

Symptoms may come and go. When you are having symptoms, it is called a flare. Flares can range from mild to severe. New symptoms may appear at any time.

There is no specific test for lupus, and it's often mistaken for other diseases. So it may take months or years for a doctor to diagnose it. Your doctor may use many tools to make a diagnosis:

• Medical history
• Complete exam
• Blood tests
• Skin biopsy (looking at skin samples under a microscope)
• Kidney biopsy (looking at tissue from your kidney under a microscope)

There is no cure for lupus, but medicines and lifestyle changes can help control it.

People with lupus often need to see different doctors. You will have a primary care doctor and a rheumatologist (a doctor who specializes in the diseases of joints and muscles). Which other specialists you see depends on how lupus affects your body. For example, if lupus damages your heart or blood vessels, you would see a cardiologist.

Your primary care doctor should coordinate care between your different health care providers and treat other problems as they come up. Your doctor will develop a treatment plan to fit your needs. You and your doctor should review the plan often to be sure it is working. You should report new symptoms to your doctor right away so that your treatment plan can be changed if needed.

The goals of the treatment plan are to:

• Prevent flares
• Treat flares when they occur
• Reduce organ damage and other problems

Treatments may include drugs to:

• Reduce swelling and pain
• Prevent or reduce flares
• Help the immune system
• Reduce or prevent damage to joints
• Balance the hormones

Besides taking medicines for lupus, you may need to take medicines for problems that are related to lupus such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or infection.

Alternative treatments are those that are not part of standard treatment. At this time, no research shows that alternative medicine can treat lupus. Some alternative or complementary approaches may help you cope or reduce some of the stress associated with living with a chronic illness. You should talk to your doctor before trying any alternative treatments.

It is important to take an active role in your treatment. It helps to learn more about lupus - being able to spot the warning signs of a flare can help you prevent the flare or make the symptoms less severe.

It is also important to find ways to cope with the stress of having lupus. Exercising and finding ways to relax may make it easier for you to cope. A good support system can also help.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Metabolism is the process your body uses to make energy from the food you eat. Food is made up of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Chemicals in your digestive system (enzymes) break the food parts down into sugars and acids, your body's fuel. Your body can use this fuel right away, or it can store the energy in your body tissues. If you have a metabolic disorder, something goes wrong with this process.

Mitochondrial diseases are a group of metabolic disorders. Mitochondria are small structures that produce energy in almost all of your cells. They make it by combining oxygen with the fuel molecules (sugars and fats) that come from your food. When the mitochondria are defective, the cells do not have enough energy. The unused oxygen and fuel molecules build up in the cells and cause damage.

The symptoms of mitochondrial disease can vary. It depends on how many mitochondria are defective, and where they are in the body. Sometimes only one organ, tissue, or cell type is affected. But often the problem affects many of them. Muscle and nerve cells have especially high energy needs, so muscular and neurological problems are common. The diseases range from mild to severe. Some types can be fatal.

Genetic mutations cause these diseases. They usually happen before age 20, and some are more common in infants. There are no cures for these diseases, but treatments may help with symptoms and slow down the disease. They may include physical therapy, vitamins and supplements, special diets, and medicines.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a form of arthritis that causes pain, swelling, stiffness and loss of function in your joints. It can affect any joint but is common in the wrist and fingers.

More women than men get rheumatoid arthritis. It often starts in middle age and is most common in older people. You might have the disease for only a short time, or symptoms might come and go. The severe form can last a lifetime.

Rheumatoid arthritis is different from osteoarthritis, the common arthritis that often comes with older age. RA can affect body parts besides joints, such as your eyes, mouth and lungs. RA is an autoimmune disease, which means the arthritis results from your immune system attacking your body's own tissues.

No one knows what causes rheumatoid arthritis. Genes, environment, and hormones might contribute. Treatments include medicine, lifestyle changes, and surgery. These can slow or stop joint damage and reduce pain and swelling.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases