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Introduction According to the Wisconsin Department of Health and other health agencies, exposure to PCBs can cause liver damage. Because liver function affects many different systems in the body, such damage could have far-reaching effects. Unborn and newborn children are more sensitive to PCBs than adults because their livers are less developed and unable to metabolize and excrete the PCBs. Certain adults may also be more sensitive to PCB effects, especially those with compromised liver functioning, including alcoholics or those with congenital disorders such as Gilbert's syndrome, and persons with liver infections, such as hepatitis B.  Persons taking medications potentially toxic to the liver may also be at increased risk (ATSDR, 1990).

Several studies show PCBs raise or alter the liver’s production of cholesterol, triglycerides, lipoproteins, and other blood chemicals considered serious risk factors for atherosclerosis. (See PCBs and Heart Disease.) In addition, PCBs induce the release of liver enzymes which impact several chemical reactions in the body, and may contribute to cancer risks. (See PCBs and Liver Cancer and Liver Enzyme Induction and Cancer.) Liver function is also related to the onset of diabetes. (See PCBS and Diabetes.)

Background on the Liver

Your liver, the largest organ in your body, plays a vital role in regulating life processes. This complex organ performs many functions essential to life. You simply cannot live without it.

The liver is located behind the lower ribs on the right side of your abdomen. It weighs about 3 pounds and is roughly the size of a football. 

Your liver plays a key role in converting food into essential chemicals of life. All of the blood that leaves the stomach and intestines must pass through the liver before reaching the rest of the body. The liver is thus strategically placed to process nutrients and drugs absorbed from the digestive tract into forms that are easier for the rest of the body to use. In essence, the liver can be thought of as the body's refinery.

Your liver plays a principal role in removing toxic substances from the blood. If possible, the liver converts them to substances that can be easily eliminated from the body. It also manufactures and exports important substances used by the rest of the body. For example, the liver makes bile, a greenish-brown fluid which is essential for digestion. Bile is stored in the gallbladder which, after eating, contracts and discharges bile into the intestine, where it aids digestion. Many drugs taken to treat diseases are also chemically modified by the liver. These changes govern the drug's activity in the body.

Your liver helps you by: 

• Producing quick energy when it is needed; 
• Manufacturing new body proteins; 
• Preventing shortages in body fuel by storing certain vitamins, minerals, and sugars; 
• Regulating transport of fat stores; 
• Regulating blood clotting; 
• Aiding in the digestive process by producing bile; 
• Controlling the production and excretion of cholesterol; 
• Neutralizing and destroying poisonous substances; 
• Metabolizing alcohol; 
• Monitoring and maintaining the proper level of many chemicals and drugs in the blood; 
• Cleansing the blood and discharging waste products into the bile; 
• Maintaining hormone balance; 
• Serving as the main organ of blood formation before birth; 
• Helping the body resist infection by producing immune factors and by removing bacteria from the bloodstream; 
• Regenerating its own damaged tissue; and 
• Storing iron.

 

 

(Background source: The American Liver Foundation)

• The History of PCB Liver Impacts
• Summary of Studies
• PCB Studies Involving the Liver
• Vitamins and Minerals May Change Our Vulnerability
• Links to More Information
• References