Understanding Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC): Causes, Symptoms, and Management

Sign In

All Posts Conditions Community About

Explore Over 11,000+ Conditions, Medications, and Symptoms.

Get a personalized feed by signing up for free.

All Conditions

Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)

by Alike Medical Team ∙ Updated on June 13, 2023

General

Primary biliary cholangitis is a chronic disease in which the bile ducts in your liver are slowly destroyed. Bile is a fluid made in your liver and stored in your gallbladder. It helps with digestion, with absorbing several vitamins, and with getting rid of toxins, cholesterol, and worn-out red blood cells. Chronic inflammation in the liver may harm the bile ducts, and can lead to bile duct damage, irreversible scarring of liver tissue (cirrhosis) and eventually, liver failure. There is no clear understanding of what is causing PBC. Although many clinicians and researches consider it an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself.

31 people with Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)

Learn from others who are experiencing Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC).

Signs & symptoms

Early symptoms of PBC may include itchy skin (pruritis) and fatigue, while late symptoms may include right upper abdomen pain, dry eyes, spleen swelling, bone, muscle of joint tissue pain, yellow pale skin (jaundice), and more.

Diagnosis

After asking you about your health history and complaints and performing a physical examination, your doctor may perform a few blood and imaging tests to get to the right diagnosis. The blood tests may consist of liver enzymes like AST, ALT bile duct enzymes like GGT, and antibody tests for autoimmune diseases like AMA. Imaging tests can include ultrasound, fibroscan, Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). If diagnosis is still uncertain, your doctor may choose to perform a liver biopsy.

Treatment

There is no cure for PBC, but the medications are available of slowing the disease progression. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) - helps to move the bile through your liver, Obeticholic acid (Ocaliva), and liver transplant.

Note

☝ We provide information on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diagnosis, procedures and lab tests. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

National Institutes of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ MedlinePluse ∙ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

☝ All information has been reviewed by certified physicians from Alike

Latest Discussions

Marniemom

Navigating Life with a Terminal Condition

Marniemom

Living with Chronic Illness: My Struggles and Comforts

Norann

Just Checking In: How Are You Doing?

Boscobel

Struggling with a new diagnosis and its impact on...

Axamillion

Help! I can't stop itching!

moseybabe

Yellow Diarrhea: Causes and Treatment

Alike Wisdom

Instantly get answers to medical questions with our AI, built from the collective wisdom of our community facing similar experiences