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Article: A Retrovirus Linked With Breast Cancer Also May Cause Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (Nonalcoholic).
- Article from:
- BIOWORLD Today
- Article date:
- November 4, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 A Thomson Healthcare Company. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Science Editor
Cirrhosis is a hard word to spell. Even tougher is suffering this severe liver disease. It comes in many forms or causes - notably alcoholic cirrhosis and primary biliary cirrhosis.
In popular concept, people who drink to excess are asking for a diagnosis of cirrhosis. But only 10 percent to 15 percent of hooked tipplers develop cirrhosis.
"There is no overlap whatsoever between primary biliary cirrhosis [PBC] and alcoholic cirrhosis - none," observed gastroenterologist Andrew Mason at the University of Alberta in Canada. "Cirrhosis," he explained, "is just a scarring of the liver. That can be caused by hepatitis B or C, genetic ...