When healthy liver tissue is destroyed and replaced by scar tissue, the condition becomes serious, because it can start blocking the flow of blood through the liver. (medicalnewstoday.com)
Death from HBV is commonly due to the development of cirrhosis (scaring of healthy liver tissue) or hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer). (sciencedaily.com)
«You want the cells to get activated but you don't want them to stay activated for too long,» says neurobiologist Katerina Akassoglou of the University of California, San Diego, because the fibers begin substituting for healthy liver tissue, leading to liver failure in people with chronic cirrhosis, for example. (scientificamerican.com)