Patient's question:
I'm doing quite well physically, except for having rheumatoid arthritis. Everything else is normal. I used to enjoy drinking alcohol, but haven't recently. My lifestyle is quite regular. However, recently I've been experiencing severe liver pain. After a thorough examination at the hospital, I was diagnosed with primary biliary cirrhosis.Doctor's answer:
Many patients with primary biliary cirrhosis experience recurrent elevation of serum bilirubin, accompanied by autoimmune disorders. The clinical manifestations of this disease include chronic obstructive jaundice, hepatomegaly, and pruritus caused by bile acid injury. It is also commonly associated with hyperlipidemia and xanthomas. There is no significant inflammation in both intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts. Portal tract small intrahepatic bile duct epithelium may undergo vacuolar degeneration, suppuration, and lymphocyte infiltration, followed by the destruction of small bile ducts and recurrent cholestasis. Fibrous tissue fibrosis invades and segments liver lobules, ultimately leading to the development of cirrhosis.