Review article on a medication-induced hepatic injury causing pathological deterioration of liver function

Abstract

As the body’s metabolic hub, the liver plays a crucial role in sustaining internal homeostasis. It is critical for managing nutrient flow and overseeing how the body processes carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Furthermore, medications are a common cause of liver damage. The liver’s involvement in detoxifying and excreting xenobiotics renders it susceptible to their negative and toxic impacts. Liver injury caused by various poisonous chemicals or their reactive metabolites (hepatotoxicants) is known as hepatotoxicity. Some of the factors influencing an individual's vulnerability to drug-induced damage include age, gender, concurrent use of other medications, and genetic variances in metabolic pathways involved in the activation or disposal of pharmaceuticals. Despite advances, diagnosing drug-related liver injury in clinical contexts is still problematic. A broad spectrum of mechanisms is responsible for drug-related liver toxicity. Many medications have extremely reactive intermediate products generated during metabolism. Under these circumstances, whether or not hepatic damage occurs may depend on how well the drug works and how quickly the metabolite is produced.