Drug Induced Liver Toxicity: a Survey

Liver toxicity refers to damage done to the liver by medications and chemicals. The liver is an essential organ to the human body. Located on the right side of the body behind the ribs, the liver stores nutrients and produces proteins important to remain healthy. One of the main functions of the liver is to remove toxic substances from the bloodstream. This process may be interrupted if toxins begin to enter the bloodstream at a rate faster than the liver's ability to break them down, and this can cause liver toxicity. Many toxins target the liver and cause hepatotoxic effects that can be observed through some biochemical parameters. Impairment of the liver generally occurs from excessive exposure to xenobiotics, alcohol, chemotherapeutic agents, virus and protozoan infections. Depending upon the severity of toxicant insult, hepatic cell injury can lead from acute to chronic hepatitis, which if left untreated can result in cirrhosis or malignant lesions. In this paper we survey the liver toxicity induced due to drug.