What are the symptoms of the Liver Disease in Alagille Syndrome?
Infants with AGS may show jaundice, pale stools, poor growth, or loose stools, and may have problems breathing or have pale or dusky skin color (if a heart problem is serious). Most patients with AGS show signs and symptoms of liver problems at birth or soon after. They usually have a type of yellow eyes and skin called cholestatic jaundice (yellow color of the skin caused by decreased bile flow) in the first few months of life. Some infants are born small, and others have problems with gaining weight and growing. The lack of bile ducts causes a decrease in bile flow from the liver to the intestine. This lack of bile flow (cholestasis) causes a build-up in blood of substances that are normally eliminated from the body through the bile: bilirubin, bile salts, cholesterol and toxins. Too much bilirubin causes jaundice in the eyes and the skin. The build-up of bile salts in the skin may cause itching, which is sometimes severe and very annoying. Itching can interfere with sleep, and the s
