Gail Cawkwell, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs at Intercept, discusses the challenges of diagnosing and treating primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a rare liver disease that is caused by an autoimmune reaction. The autoimmune reaction damages bile ducts in the liver. Bile ducts are tube-like structures that carry bile from the liver to the intestine to help with the digestion of food.
When bile is not able to move through the bile ducts, it collects in the liver and causes damage. PBC is progressive, which means that the damage gets worse over time. Starting with inflammation, the damage can cause fibrosis, and then cirrhosis. In some cases, cirrhosis can lead to liver failure.
