Fibrosis can sometimes be reversed if the cause is identified promptly and corrected. However, after months or years of repeated or continual damage, fibrosis becomes widespread and permanent. The scar tissue can form bands throughout the liver, destroying the liver’s internal structure and impairing the liver’s ability to regenerate itself and to function. Such severe scarring is called cirrhosis.
- Alcohol abuse
- Viral hepatitis C
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver (fatty liver not due to alcohol use—nonalcoholic steatohepatitis)
Nonalcoholic fatty liver usually occurs in people who have excess body weight, diabetes or prediabetes, and/or high levels of fats (lipids) and cholesterol in the blood. This combination of risk factors for fatty liver disease is often referred to as metabolic syndrome. Over recent years, metabolic syndrome leading to nonalcoholic fatty liver has become increasingly common in the United States. Worldwide, viral hepatitis B (see table The Hepatitis Viruses) is a common cause. Sometimes the cause of fibrosis is not known