What causes Primary Biliary Cirrhosis ?
The causes of primary biliary cirrhosis are unknown. Most research suggests it is an autoimmune disease. The immune system protects people from infection by identifying and destroying bacteria, viruses, and other potentially harmful foreign substances. An autoimmune disease is a disorder in which the bodys immune system attacks the bodys own cells and organs. In primary biliary cirrhosis, the immune system attacks the small bile ducts in the liver.
                
Genetics, or inherited genes, can make a person more likely to develop primary biliary cirrhosis. Primary biliary cirrhosis is more common in people who have a parent or siblingparticularly an identical twinwith the disease. In people who are genetically more likely to develop primary biliary cirrhosis, environmental factors may trigger or worsen the disease, including
                
- exposure to toxic chemicals  - smoking  - infections
                
Genetics can also make some people more likely to develop other autoimmune diseases, such as
                
- autoimmune hepatitis, a disease in which the bodys immune system attacks liver cells  - Sjgrens syndrome, a condition in which the immune system attacks the glands that produce tears and saliva  - autoimmune thyroid dysfunctions, conditions in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland