The liver is not merely the largest but also one of the extensively functioning as well as the most complex internal organ in the human body. The liver performs hundreds of most crucial activities that include processing of most of the nutrients, producing bile and blood clotting elements, and eliminating dangerous substances such as drugs, alcohol and others from the blood streams. The consistent exposure to huge amount of toxins may harm the liver and cause Hepatitus. However, most of the cases are due to alcohol and related to drugs of various types.

But in the case of autoimmune hepatitis, the body’s immune system which normally attacks viruses, bacteria and other pathogens, targets the liver instead, which causes chronic inflammation and progressively more serious damage to the liver cells. The autoimmune Hepatitus is believed to be activated by:

Infections: Autoimmune hepatitis may occur after the viral infection like Hepatitus A, B, measles or Epstein-Barr virus infection, which in one of the most common human viruses having links with numerous ailments like mononucleosis.

Certain Drugs: Some medications directly damage the liver, like overdosing of normal pain killer acetaminophen for instance, may lead to liver failure. Some drugs damage liver indirectly by stimulating the irregular immune response which in turn damages the liver cells. The cancer drugs like interferon, hypertension medications like methyldopa or hydrochlorothiazide, antibiotics like minocycline which are used for treating adolescent acne, nitrofurantoin and anti-inflammatory diclofenac as well as probably the anti-cholesterol drug like atorvastatin are the other drugs that may harm the liver.

Genetic abnormalities: Some people are genetically influenced to develop autoimmune hepatitis. Other genetic abnormalities may make autoimmune Hepatitus more destructive and difficult to treat.