Biliary atresia

Biliary atresia is a condition in which your baby’s bile ducts are blocked and can’t send bile from their liver to their small intestine. Bile is a substance your baby’s liver produces that carries waste products to their intestines. Bile also helps your baby’s intestines digest and absorb vital nutrients. Biliary atresia affects babies in their first few months of life and can quickly lead to severe liver damage without prompt treatment.A slowdown or stalling of bile flow (cholestasis) affects your baby’s liver and all the organs and tissues surrounding it. Bile clogs up in your baby’s liver and causes scarring that can prevent their liver from working normally. Also, their intestines can’t receive the bile needed to break down nutrients and support their growth.Biliary atresia is a serious condition, but surgery can create a new path for bile to flow from your baby’s liver. This relieves symptoms and helps with digestion. However, due to liver damage, many babies with this condition ultimately need liver transplantation. The good news is that, thanks to medical advances, babies with biliary atresia often go on to enjoy a long and healthy life.

Autoimmune hepatitis

Autoimmune hepatitis is a liver disease that happens when the body's immune system attacks the liver. This can cause swelling, irritation and damage to the liver. The exact cause of autoimmune hepatitis is unclear, but genetic and environmental factors appear to interact over time to trigger the disease. Autoimmune hepatitis occurs when the body's immune system, which usually attacks viruses, bacteria and other causes of disease, instead targets the liver. This attack on the liver can lead to long-lasting inflammation and serious damage to liver cells. Just why the body turns against itself is unclear, but researchers think autoimmune hepatitis could be caused by the interaction of genes controlling immune system function and exposure to viruses or medicines. Untreated autoimmune hepatitis can lead to scarring of the liver, called cirrhosis. It can also eventually lead to liver failure. When diagnosed and treated early, however, autoimmune hepatitis often can be controlled with medicines that suppress the immune system. A liver transplant may be an option when autoimmune hepatitis doesn't respond to medicines or liver disease becomes advanced.