Autoimmune Hepatitis: AIH Specialist Care
AIH is when your immune system attacks liver cells. Dr Nadir Abbas is an autoimmune liver disease expert in Birmingham.
What is Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH)?
Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH) is a long-term liver condition. Your immune system mistakenly attacks your own liver cells. In fact, this causes severe inflammation.
So, if left untreated, it leads to deep liver scars.
AIH can happen to anyone at any age, but it is much more common in women. It makes up about 10% to 15% of all long-term liver problems in Western countries.
As a dedicated AIH specialist in Birmingham, Dr Abbas provides tailored and steroid-sparing care to protect your liver for the long term.
As Seen On
Stages of Autoimmune Hepatitis
AIH can be different for everyone. Dr Nadir uses special tests to see how your liver is doing:
Early Stage
There might be a little bit of swelling in the liver. Often, you might not feel sick at all, and it is only found during a normal blood test.
Active AIH
The immune system is attacking the liver. You might feel very tired or look a bit yellow (jaundice).
Advanced Stage (Cirrhosis)
If the swelling lasts a long time, the liver gets scarred.
Remission
This is the goal! This is when the swelling goes away because of the right medicine.
Symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis
AIH symptoms can be tricky because they often look like other illnesses. Common signs include:
- Feeling very, very tired (fatigue)
- Yellow skin or eyes (jaundice)
- Joint pain (like in your fingers or knees)
- Pain in the abdomen
- Skin rashes
Many people with AIH also have other health issues, like thyroid problems or coeliac disease. Dr Nadir looks at your whole body, not just your liver, to make an accurate diagnosis & create a tailored treatment plan.
Causes of AIH
Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH) happens when your body’s natural defence system gets confused. Instead of fighting off germs, it starts to attack your own healthy liver cells.
Immune System Confusion
Your immune system mistakenly treats your liver cells as invaders, causing redness and swelling.
Genetic Links
You may be more likely to develop AIH if you already have other autoimmune issues like thyroid or coeliac disease.
Environmental Triggers
In people born with certain genes, a simple illness or a new medicine might switch on this immune attack.
How Does Our Expert Diagnose AIH?
Dr Nadir is an expert at finding AIH, even when it is hard to spot. He uses the IAIHG scoring system to be 100% sure.
Specialist Consultation
You will have a 30-minute talk with Dr Nadir to discuss your health.
Specific Blood Tests
Our autoimmune liver disease expert looks for autoantibodies (special markers in your blood) including extended autoimmune panel.
IgG Levels Check
Dr Nadir will check the protein levels in your blood to see how active your immune system is.
Treatments for Autoimmune Hepatitis
Steroids Treatment
Steroids (Prednisolone) tablets are the most common way to start treatment. You usually start with a higher dose to stop the liver inflammation quickly.
Dr Nadir is an expert at slowly lowering your steroid dose. The goal is to move you onto long-term maintenance medicine as soon as your liver tests improve.
Advanced Immunosuppression & Steroid-Sparing Care
Many patients worry about taking strong medicine for a long time. As an autoimmune liver disease expert, Dr Nadir’s main goal is to keep your liver safe while using the least amount of medicine possible. This is called steroid-sparing care.
Safe Steroid Tapering
Dr Nadir carefully lowers steroids to help you avoid side effects like weight gain or weak bones.
Advanced Medicine
If the usual tablets do not work, he is an expert in using second-line options like azathioprine, MMF or Tacrolimus.
Expert Links
For very difficult cases, he works closely with the top liver centres in the UK to get you the best care.
Dr Nadir Abbas
MBBS, MRCP (London), ESEGH, PhD
Consultant Hepatologist & Gastroenterologist
Director of Private Gut and Liver Services at House of Health
Dr Nadir Abbas is an award-winning NHS consultant and internationally recognised researcher who brings world-class expertise in gut and liver disorders to House of Health as Director of Gut & Liver Private Services in Birmingham, UK.
He combines expert patient care with internationally recognised research in liver and digestive disorders. Dr Abbas has contributed to British guidelines on the management of liver cirrhosis, published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, and presented at international conferences.
At House of Health, he leads a multidisciplinary team providing personalised care for complex gastrointestinal and liver conditions.
Highlights:
- 14+ years of clinical experience.
- A PhD specifically in Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) from the University of Birmingham, UK.
- Specialist in all aspects of liver diseases, including PBC, autoimmune hepatitis, PSC, Fatty Liver Disease (MASLD/MASH), IBS, IBD, GORD, pancreatic and biliary disorders, alongside general gastroenterology issues.
- Research expertise in primary biliary cholangitis and liver cirrhosis.
- International conference speaker and published author.
- Leads a multidisciplinary team of dietitians, radiologists, GPs, and gut-directed therapists.
- Skilled in advanced endoscopy and comprehensive digestive investigations.
Ready to Protect Your Liver?
Get expert autoimmune hepatitis care from Dr Nadir Abbas, a leading autoimmune liver disease specialist in the UK.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no complete cure yet. However, with expert care, we can push the disease into remission. So, you can live a full, happy life.
Usually, yes. It lets us see the exact tissue damage. Dr Abbas interprets the results to build your perfect care plan.
On the contrary, our main goal is to use other safe medicines. This lets us reduce your steroid use to zero if possible.
Your body's immune system gets confused. It mistakenly attacks your own healthy liver cells. We do not know exactly why, but we can step in and stop the attack quickly.
With expert care, the outlook is very good. Our goal is to push the disease into a deep sleep. Most patients go on to live long, happy, and normal lives.
You must avoid anything that makes your liver work harder. This means no alcohol and no new vitamins without asking us first. You should also avoid taking high doses of steroids for a long time.
Dr Abbas plans your medicine to keep your whole body safe. He uses strong medicine first to stop the liver attack fast. Then, he switches you to safer, long-term medicines so you do not need steroids forever.
Don't worry. Dr Nadir has lots of experience with second-line medicines like MMF or Tacrolimus for people who can't take the usual tablets.
Yes! With the right care from an autoimmune liver disease expert, most people with AIH lead full and happy lives.
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