Signs and Symptoms
Individuals with PBC may present with the following:
- Fatigue
- Pruritus (itchy skin)
- Jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin), due to increased bilirubin in the blood.
- Xanthoma (local collections of cholesterol in the skin, especially around the eyes (xanthelasma))
- Complications of cirrhosis and portal hypertension:
- Fluid retention in the abdomen (ascites)
- Hypersplenism
- Esophageal varices
- Hepatic encephalopathy, including coma in extreme cases.
- Association with an extrahepatic autoimmune disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis or Sjögren's syndrome (in up to 80% of cases).
Read more about this topic: Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
Famous quotes containing the words signs and/or symptoms:
“[Christianity] endeavors equally to establish these two things: that God has set up in the Church visible signs to make himself known to those who should seek him sincerely, and that he has nevertheless so disguised them that he will only be perceived by those who seek him with all their heart.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“There is one great fact, characteristic of this our nineteenth century, a fact which no party dares deny. On the one hand, there have started into life industrial and scientific forces which no epoch of former human history had ever suspected. On the other hand, there exist symptoms of decay, far surpassing the horrors recorded of the latter times of the Roman empire. In our days everything seems pregnant with its contrary.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)