Hepatic Ischemia (HI)

Hepatic ischemia is a condition in which the liver does not get enough blood or oxygen, causing injury to liver cells.Low blood pressure from any condition can lead to hepatic ischemia. Such conditions may include: abnormal heart rhythms, dehydration, heart failure, infection and severe bleeding etc.. Hepatic ischemia can be tested by blood tests to check liver function (AST and ALT ) or doppler ultrasound of the liver's blood vessels.

The liver is highly susceptible to a number of pathological insults, including ischemia/reperfusion injury. Studies have used an animal model for hepatic ischemia/reperfusion, and have shown that this injury induces the production and release of hepatic-derived tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), which mediates, in part, local liver injury following hepatic reperfusion.