Dr. Pathik Parikh Hepatologist and Liver Transplant Physician

There is a myth that because alcohol is banned in Gujarat, there is no  liver disease in Gujarat . Though, alcohol is one of the major reasons for liver failure, there are many other diseases which one needs to be aware of. The most common cause of  liver failure in India  is  Hepatitis B . The most common cause of liver cancer is Hepatitis B. Those who were born before 2002 need to check themselves for hepatitis B. vaccination is available and is now a part of national immunization schedule. Hepatitis B has no symptoms and the only way to diagnose is a simple blood test. If you have received blood transfusion in past, you have the risk of being exposed to  Hepatitis C . The diet in Gujarat is full of sugars and oils. With adaption of western sedentary lifestyle, obesity and diabetes is on the rise. With that fatty liver is also on the rise.  Fatty liver  can cause liver damage similar to that caused by alcohol. Fatty liver is worldwide becoming the most common cause of liver

The answer is yes and no. It indeed is a liver problem and it indicated that there is fat accumulated in your liver. However, it is not just a  liver problem  and it is one of the manifestations of a complete metabolic problem. Liver is a store house. Whatever we eat, the excess amount is converted to fat and is stored in the liver. If on a daily basis, we have a positive balance between calories we eat and calories we burn, the difference is converted to fat and stored in the liver. Over a period of time the fat accumulated to such a great extent that it starts damaging your liver cells and they start dying. This is the time when your liver function tests start becoming abnormal. If no corrective action is taken at that moment, the liver tries healing itself with abnormal fibrosis and eventually it becomes cirrhosis. Once cirrhosis happens, it is irreversible and can then lead to all complications like blood in vomit, blood in stools, abnormal behavior, fluid accumulation in y

Liver  as you all know it, is not only the second largest organ of the body after skin, but also a major organ for metabolizing. Whatever we eat goes to liver before reaching anywhere else in the body. The liver stores the excess energy as fat and condensed glucose known as glycogen. So whenever we eat excessively, the energy is stored in liver as fat. If we continue to do so for months and years together, the liver starts accumulating fat and enlarges in size. A point comes when liver no longer can take it and starts undergoing destruction. What is Fatty Liver? Whenever the fat accumulation in liver crosses 5% of liver weight it is known as fatty liver. Though in last century alcohol was believed to be the major cause of fatty liver, the diet and lifestyle is rapidly becoming the major cause of fatty liver now. The disease is known as non alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD. Once it starts destroying liver it is called as steatohepatitis or NASH. Who is likely to have i

Blood in stools is a common symptom. Many of the individuals face it once in a while. But if it is a recurrent symptom, Ulcerative colitis is a  disease  that needs to be ruled out. Intestine is divided into two main parts- small and large. Large intestine is the last one metre of the intestine which helps not only in forming stools but also storing it till the time we evacuate during our routine defecation. What is Ulcerative Colitis? It is a type of disease where the last part of our intestine gets damaged by our own immune cells and is a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease or in common terms, IBD. The other types of IBD are Crohn’s Disease and Microscopic Colitis. In ulcerative colitis, the lining of the large intestine gets damaged and ulcerated. Once it gets ulcerated it starts oozing blood. Who is likely to have it? Ulcerative colitis is common among young individuals of both the sexes, though, no age is protected from it. The exact cause of ulcerative colitis remains