
Biliary Atresia Etiopathogenesis: On the Way to Solve the Mystery Pages 6-8
Mostafa Mohamed Sira and Ahmad Mohamed Sira
Department of Pediatric Hepatology, National Liver Institute, Menofiya University, 32511 Shebin El-koom, Menofiya, Egypt
http://dx.doi.org/10.12970/2308-6483.2016.04.01.2
Abstract: Biliary Atresia (BA) is the most common cause of chronic cholestasis in infants and the most frequent cause for surgery in cholestatic jaundice in this age group. It is a destructive inflammatory obliterative cholangiopathy that affects varying lengths of both intrahepatic and extrahepatic biliary tree. The extensive research in BA aims at three main aspects; a) understanding the etiopathogenesis, b) achieving early diagnosis, and c) improving the outcome of surgical interventions. The improvements in the latter two are largely based on the advances in further understanding and revealing the etiopathogenesis. Till the moment, the exact etiology remains a mystery. Biliatresone, a recently identified toxin that causes BA phenotype in zibrafish may open a new horizon for future studies in humans in an attempt to solve the mystery.
Keywords: Biliary atresia, Biliatresone, Chenopodium ambrosioides, Dysphania ambrosioides, Dysphania glomulifera, Etiopathogenesis. Read more