People equate liver disease with Piliya or Jaundice. They are also aware that it can be caused by viruses-A, B, C, D, and E. General awareness about another entity of liver disease that is autoimmune liver diseases is considered to be non-existent.
The Department of Immunopathology, PGI has contributed extensively to the screening of autoimmune liver disease in North-Indian population, and has therefore documented that there is a rise in the incidence of Autoimmune Hepatitis in North India.
This is a condition in which, due to known genetic susceptibility, a person begins to form known auto-antibodies and mounts a destructive immune response against the liver and the billiary system. This disease is more common in women, but can also occur in males, and does not spare any age group.
Common presentation of the disease includes jaundice, unusual tiredness, itching of skin, pain/distension of the abdomen, or there can be other vague symptoms that people often neglect. While characterising these diseases, it was noticed that patients presenting to rheumatologists, with joint pains, or to the endocrinologist with diabetes and hypothyroidism may also have co-existent Autoimmune Hepatitis.