Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
PBC
Symptoms
More than half of patients have no symptoms at the time of diagnosis. Symptoms usually come on gradually and may include:
Abdominal pain Enlarged liver - Fatigue
- Fatty deposits under the skin
- Fatty stools
- Itching
Jaundice - Soft yellow spots on the eyelid
Signs and tests
Tests for
- Serum albumin
-
Liver function tests (serum alkaline phosphatase is most important) - Prothrombin time (
PT ) -
Serum cholesterol and lipoproteins
Tests for the disease:
- Elevated immunoglobulin M level in the blood
Liver biopsy -
Anti-mitochondrial antibodies (results are positive in about 95% of cases)
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Primary biliary cirrhosis Treatment
Review Date: 05/04/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of
Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San
Diego, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director,
A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
