What is auto immune hepatitis?

This is when the body begins to attack your own liver.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases...

http://www.autoimmunehepatitis.co.uk/mai...

The disease is usually quite serious and, if not treated, gets worse over time. It's usually chronic, meaning it can last for years, and can lead to cirrhosis (scarring and hardening) of the liver and eventually liver failure.

THis disease can cause serious damage to the liver, because your immune system attacks the liver.
Autoimmune hepatitis is a condition in which the patient's own immune systems attacks the liver causing inflammation and liver cell death. The condition is chronic and progressive. Although the disease is chronic, many patients with autoimmune hepatitis present acutely ill with jaundice, fever and sometimes symptoms of severe hepatic dysfunction, a picture that resembles acute hepatitis. (1)

Treatments include prednisone and azathioprine and/or a combination of both. (2) There are also some experimental treatment modalities being tested.

Pat O'Connor
Lymphedema People
http://www.lymphedemapeople.com...
(1) http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hcv/aut...

(2) http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic366.ht...