Autoimmune Liver Diseases: Clinical and Imaging Perspective
摘要
Autoimmune hepatobiliary diseases are chronic inflammatory disorders where the immune system targets the hepatic and biliary cells. It encompasses three major pathologies, namely, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis. The usual pathological progression in all three diseases, being chronic inflammation, culminates in the development of fibrosis and cirrhosis in the end stages. However, salient imaging findings have been described in the literature to differentiate the three entities. At times, there may be co-existence of more than one pathology resulting in overlap syndromes, which are fairly common. The role of imaging is to diagnose the condition and also to rule out other causes of chronic hepatitis and to evaluate complications of cirrhosis and autoimmune involvement of other organs. On USG and CT scan, imaging findings are non-specific and may range from hepatomegaly to cirrhosis. Hence, MRI is the imaging of choice.