Polycystic Liver Disease: Information for Patients

By: David Drum

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Polycystic liver disease is a rare disease involving multiple cysts on the liver. Less than 200,000 people in the United States have it, and most of them are women. When the daughter of medical journalist David Drum was diagnosed with polycystic liver disease, he found precious little basic information for patients, and none available in book form. After doing extensive research to help his daughter manage her disease, Drum condensed the information he found into a short, useful book. "Polycystic Liver Disease: Information for Patients" contains basic medical information for people who wish to learn more about polycystic liver disease. The first book published for patients dealing with this rare disease includes useful information on diet, herbs, and lifestyle. The book examines the risk factors for the disease, the important role of the liver in the body, the formation of cysts, and treatments for the most common symptoms including the symptom of pain. Of particular interest is an in-depth look at the five major treatments used to treat symptomatic polycystic liver disease. Although the disease is not life-threatening, for an estimated one out of five patients, an invasive treatment such as surgery may ultimately be necessary. Drum provides objective information on each of these treatments, and examines the benefits, drawbacks, and possible complications for each. Also included are new drugs of potential benefit in clinical trials, new treatments on the horizon such as hepatic artery embolization, an explanation of liver tests which may be employed by your doctor, links to useful web sites, a glossary, and a bibliography of sources.