Anorexia and Cirrhosis?

[nygirl7]

I was just reading about Portia DeRossi's anorexia and it says when she was down to 82 pounds she "was told she was suffering from a handful of serious conditions: osteoporosis, organ failure, cirrhosis of the liver and the auto-immune disease lupus."

how would anorexia cause cirrhosis does anybody know? I'm just curious because I never heard of that before and was wondering how it was related. If she was only consuming 150 calories a day it certainly wasn't alcohol related.

[eureka254]

Most people don't think of 'anorexia' as a serious disease, but prolonged anorexia (the most common being nervosa) can be life-threatening.  Because it generally leads to severe malnutrition, the host of 'complications' anorexias present can be quite varied -- but prolonged deficiencies in necessary proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids can indeed result in almost anything from bone loss to anemia to organ failure.  Deprive any body system of what it needs long enough and it will fail...

[nygirl7]

Wow I really had no idea you could have liver failure and kidney failure and all that........I never really thought about it and now it makes more sense why karen Carpenter died from it.

[mikesimon]

I didn't know anything about Portia. I had no idea she suffered from anorexia nervosa. I assumed she had anorexia - eating disorder from any cause - and that is why I assumed the anorexia resulted from her cirrhosis.
Now, that I have read the gossip/Oprah stuff I lean more towards Willy's opinion.

Mike

[Willy50]

It can work both ways; liver disease causing anorexia and vica versa.

From anorexianervosatreatments.net;

?The progressive course of Anorexia Nervosa, if untreated, is as follows: Cessation of menstruation, cold intolerance, lethargy, Osteoporosis (weakening of the bones), Petechiae (bleeding) on the arms and legs, development of lanugo, fine, downy body hair, severe dehydration and electrolyte depletion that is potentially fatal. Other progressive courses of Anorexia Nervosa are: severe anemia, irregular heartbeat, brain aneurism, pancreatitis (pancreas failure), jaundice (yellowing of the skin) due to liver failure (fatal), kidney failure (fatal), massive stroke (fatal), massive heart attack (fatal), and suicide."

Very sad to hear if this is true.

Willy

[mikesimon]

Perhaps the cirrhosis was the cause of the anorexia. It's really not uncommon in cirrhotic patients.

Mike