http://www.texasliver.com Liver Specialists of Texas Content Managers RSS feed. . Copyright 2010 Liver Specialists of Texas Tendenci Software by Schipul - The Web Marketing Company en-us noemail@texasliver.com Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:02:17 GMT Content Managers http://www.texasliver.com/en/cms/169/ Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a disease characterized by inflammatory destruction of the small bile ducts within the liver. PBC eventually leads to cirrhosis of the liver. The cause of PBC is unknown, but because of the presence of autoantibodies, it is generally thought to be an autoimmune disease. Other etiologies, such as infectious agents, have not been completely excluded. PBC has a worldwide prevalence of approximately 5/100,000 and an annual incidence of approximately 6/1,000,000. The prevalence and incidence appear to be similar in different regions of the world. About 90% of patients with PBC are women. Most commonly, the disease is diagnosed in patients between the ages of 40 and 60 years. Most patients with PBC present with pruritus (itching). After pruritus, jaundice (yellow skin caused by bilirubin retention) is the most common presenting symptom. Several patients also present with complaints related to chronic portal hypertension (increased blood pressure in the... http://www.texasliver.com/en/cms/169/ Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:08:51 GMT