Fibrous fluid. Fibrous mastopathy

Fibrous (fibrous) tissue- a type of connective tissue that has relatively high tensile strength. It consists of collagen and elastic fibers. Most often, such tissue consists of ligaments and tendons. This type of tissue contains practically no living cells and mainly consists of polysaccharides, proteins and water.

Disorder of fibrous tissues

During connective tissue aging, the pathology of fibrous tissues outstrips the aging of other systems.

Disruption of fibrous tissues gives a picture of the appearance of an old man, typical of old age. Clinical manifestations include joint stiffness and pain. These are not inflammatory pains and therefore do not benefit from well-developed scientific anti-inflammatory therapies. The cause of these pains is age-related degenerative changes in connective tissue, leading to disruption of the main property of fibrous tissue - elasticity.

In this regard, the leading clinical symptom of this pathology becomes clear - pain in the musculoskeletal system at the beginning of movement and improvement with moderate physical activity, walking or massage. It becomes difficult to hold a pose and especially change it.

Violation of the ligamentous apparatus of the organ of vision makes accommodation difficult, as a result of which age-related farsightedness develops. The voice becomes hoarse (impaired elasticity of the vocal cords).

Fibrous tissue is one of the types of connective tissue that has particular strength and sufficient stretch. Its structure is fibrous and contains collagen fibers and elastic fibers.

The essence of the question

Typically, ligaments or tendons are made of this type of tissue. Fibrous tissue contains almost no living cells and contains polysaccharides, proteins and water.
In some cases, pathologies are observed in fibrous tissue and various types of diseases develop. The source of the disease can be in different organs: lungs, kidneys, liver and others.

In these cases, they say that the patient has focal fibrosis of one or another organ. Consider liver fibrosis.

Characteristics of hepatic fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is a pathological condition in which the structure of the organ itself changes. At the same time, fibrous tissue grows and begins to occupy more and more space in the liver tissue.

In other words, this is one of the processes aimed at protecting the human body, which occurs in order to maintain the structure of the organ that is affected by various diseases.
Some of the reasons that cause the destruction of liver tissue and the appearance of fibrous tissue in its original place may be:

1. Autoimmune and viral type of liver disease. Doctors have found that the risk of fibrotic disease is significantly higher in those who suffer from hepatitis C.
2. Alcoholic drinks containing alcohol. It has been established that the abuse of drinks containing alcohol significantly increases the risk of fibrotic pathology.
3. If the organ is affected by heavy metals or chemical compounds.
4. Some types of medications, when taken for a long time, can contribute to the occurrence of fibrotic changes.
5. Diseases of internal organs. An example would be heart failure.

What may be the signs of the disease?

At the initial stage of the disease, there may not be any noticeable signs. This is because the appearance of fibrous tissue occurs at a fairly slow pace.
Signs that can be clearly noticeable sometimes appear five years later, starting from the moment when pathological processes began to form.

Due to the fact that the disease begins its development slowly and is almost asymptomatic, fibrosis at the initial stage can be similar to inflammation of the spleen. However, in this case, the size of the gland becomes slightly larger, and the level of leukocytes, platelets and red blood cells becomes smaller, which is very noticeable.

When the disease reaches the fourth stage, cirrhosis of the liver can form. Symptoms such as the appearance of dilated veins in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract may occur.

It should be noted that the liver becomes larger extremely rarely. On the contrary, its size is extremely small.
Symptoms such as:

liver pain appears;
fatigue increases;
Nausea or vomiting may occur, especially if it is mixed with blood;
diseases that are associated with changes in blood composition - leukopenia, iron deficiency anemia and other types of diseases.

The manifestation of signs of fibrosis and their intensity may vary. It depends on what kind of immune response the human body has, on the reasons that caused the changes.

In medicine, it is customary to distinguish five forms of the disease. They are characterized by the place of formation of the main content of scar tissue in the liver:

1. Venular form. With this form, only the central parts of the liver lobes are present in the lesions.
2. Pericellular form. With it, fibrous tissue begins to be located in a circle of hepatocytes.
3. Septile shape. It is characterized by the presence of the largest areas of tissue that has become necrotic and areas with fibrous tissue. As a result, the structure of the liver lobes undergoes changes and becomes disrupted.
4. Periductal form. Its difference is that fibrous tissue is located near the bile canaliculi.
5. Mixed form. With this form, symptoms of all forms that were described above are noted.

Depending on what caused the disease, the disease can be divided into several types:

periportal;
cardiac;
congenital.

Periportal type of fibrosis is one of the most common. It appears with a history of pathologies such as cirrhosis and hepatitis in patients exposed to chemical toxins or taking certain types of drugs for a long period of time.

Cardiac liver fibrosis is not a disease arising from external causes. The reason for its occurrence is associated with the influence of the pathological condition of the heart and blood vessels on the tissues of the small blood supply. Since the liver contains the largest number of vessels, poor blood circulation in it causes the formation of congestion. This leads to increased blood pressure in the organ.

Often the consequences of simple diseases can be much more dangerous. For example, fibrosis can become a serious complication of banal inflammation. What could this disease be hiding? This is a phenomenon that can occur for many reasons and can affect any organ. What is fibrosis? This is a pathology caused by an increase in the activity of collagen production (a component of connective tissue). The result is the formation of scars and constriction of the functioning tissues of the connective organ. Whatever organ is affected by fibrosis, the growing mass of collagen and fluid interferes with its normal functioning.

The most common cause of fibrosis is inflammation (usually chronic). The body, with the help of connective tissue, tries to limit the area of damage - to prevent it from spreading. But subsequently, control over the volume of collagen produced is lost.

Common causes include mechanical organ injuries, radiation exposure, autoimmune processes, diabetes mellitus, obesity, infectious diseases and collagenosis. The latter are congenital pathologies in the structure of collagen produced by the body.

It is worth noting that fibrosis affects the organ that was previously diseased. That is, due to pneumonia, one should expect fibrosis of the lungs, and hepatitis – of the liver, etc. There are a number of diseases that increase the risk of developing fibrosis. For the lungs this is:

Inflammatory diseases (granulomatosis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, etc.).
Conditions caused by inhalation of toxic substances (asbestos, etc.).
Long-term use of certain medications (antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs, etc.).
Smoking.

Prostate fibrosis can cause:

Inflammation of the prostate gland.
Atherosclerotic lesion of the main vessels supplying the prostate.
Long-term abstinence from sexual intercourse.
Hormonal imbalance.

Liver fibrosis occurs as a result of:

The mammary gland can be affected by fibrosis due to untreated mastopathy (fibrocystic), and the uterus - due to advanced endometritis.

Classification

There are several types of fibrosis, depending on how widespread the process is and what its nature is:

Focal fibrosis is diagnosed in the early stages of its development. It is characterized by the presence of one or several separate foci of tissue proliferation.
Diffuse fibrosis occurs if the growth of scar tissue in an organ is not detected in time. This is a lesion of the entire organ. At this stage, the tissues can no longer perform their function normally.

Considering fibrosis as a disease that can affect almost any organ, it is necessary to highlight its individual forms. The most common pathology is:

Eyeball (epiretinal fibrosis). Scar tissue takes over the retina and vitreous body of the eye, which can lead to serious vision impairment and even loss.
Penis – damage to the cavernous bodies. Depending on what part of the organ is affected - apical, pedunculated or total.
Mammary gland.
Lungs. May be unilateral or bilateral depending on whether one or two lungs are affected. There are three stages in the development of pulmonary fibrosis – pulmonary fibrosis, pneumosclerosis and pulmonary cirrhosis.
Aortic valve. It is dangerous because the affected valve quickly loses its functionality and, as a result, heart pathologies.
Heart (myocardium or valves).
Liver disease is one of the most common and varied types of disease.

There is another form of fibrosis - cystic or cystic fibrosis. This is a variant of a generalized process (when not one organ is affected, but the entire organism). This disease belongs to the genetic category. In this case, fibrotic changes affect all glands and organs of the gastrointestinal tract. Fibrous tissue clogs the excretory ducts of the glands, which leads to serious complications.

For a long time, cystic fibrosis was considered incompatible with life. Today, children with this pathology survive only thanks to systemic drug treatment and constant monitoring by doctors.

Pathogenesis

The degree of development of the disease and further prognosis depend on how intensively two processes occur: the production of collagen by fibroblasts and its resorption by macrophages.

At the site of the disease, active and passive partitions of connective tissue can be distinguished. Histologically, they differ in the number of cells: active septa are composed of cells and the fibers they produce. And passive ones are made only from fibers (these are parts of the organ stroma that previously supported parenchyma - functioning tissue).

By determining the predominant share of the lesion, it is possible to predict how well it will respond to treatment. Active septa grow quickly, but are also well resorbed, while passive septa are poorly absorbed.

The mechanism of development of fibrosis is as follows:

The inflammatory process or injury stimulates the production of mediator substances, the target of which is macrophages (immune cells responsible for the absorption of foreign substances and dying structures of the body).
When activated, macrophages release growth factors that stimulate other cells - pericytes (poorly differentiated cells accompanying blood vessels). Pericytes migrate to damaged tissues.
Arriving at the site of inflammation, these cells are transformed into producers of collagen and other components of the intercellular substance - fibroblasts.
Since there are many more units producing collagen than cells absorbing it, the mass of connective tissue increases.

If you stop inflammation in time, you can stop this process in the initial stages. When the balance between the types of cells is restored, the scar tissue is subject to reverse development - it resolves on its own.

Let's look at the stages of disease development using the liver as an example:

Periportal fibrosis: The disease affects the hilum of the liver, the part where the feeding vessels enter. At this stage, the manifestations of the disease are minimal.
Partitions are formed that span over the gates. The patient already feels the first symptoms. If the disease is diagnosed at this stage, there is a chance to be cured completely and without consequences.
Fibrous changes deepen into the parenchyma of the organ. Connective tissue cords stretch from the periphery to the center. Diffuse liver fibrosis is diagnosed.
Development of liver cirrhosis.

All these stages are accompanied by certain manifestations and symptoms that are important to notice in time. The transition from a focal form to a diffuse one is a long process; it will take several years to go through all four stages of fibrosis. The danger is that the symptoms appear gradually, and the patient may not pay attention to them.

Symptoms

Manifestations vary depending on which organ is affected. The first stage of its development is almost always asymptomatic. As the disease progresses, the symptoms of the disease increase.

The following manifestations are typical for liver fibrosis:

Weakness and malaise.
Enlarged liver and spleen.
The liver becomes less soft.
Pain in the right hypochondrium.
Loss of appetite, nausea.
Yellowness of the skin and sclera.
Blood clotting disorder.

At the final stages, complications begin to develop in the form of portal hypertension, ascites, and cirrhosis. It is worth noting that this process is quite lengthy. Serious deterioration of the patient's condition can be observed within 5 years.

Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis:

Shortness of breath.
Cough.
Pain in the chest cavity.
Irregular heartbeat.

These manifestations initially bother the patient only after physical exertion (when breathing quickens). As the disease progresses, symptoms begin to appear at rest.

Symptoms accompanying cardiac fibrosis:

Blood pressure surges.
Shortness of breath.
Pain behind the sternum.
Arrhythmia.

Just as in the previous case, the symptoms intensify with physical activity, and can only slightly bother a person when he breathes evenly.

In the initial stages of uterine fibrosis, a woman does not feel any symptoms. As the disease progresses, pain in the lower abdomen increases, discharge during menstruation becomes more abundant, turning into bleeding.

In the early stages, fibrosis can be completely cured. Therefore, if your health worsens, you need to make an appointment with a doctor.

Diagnostics

Methods for diagnosing the disease are chosen by the doctor based on the patient’s complaints. The attending physician, suspecting damage to one or another organ, prescribes a series of tests and diagnostic procedures. For each type of this disease, a tissue biopsy (removal of a sample of damaged tissue) and a histological examination of its structure (microscopic analysis of the cellular composition) are required. Based on these studies, a diagnosis can be made.

What additionally the patient will need to undergo:

If pulmonary fibrosis is suspected, the patient should undergo chest X-ray and spirography (analysis of the volumes of inhaled and exhaled air).
When diagnosing liver fibrosis, it is necessary to undergo an ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs and take biochemical and clinical blood tests.
Magnetic resonance and computed tomography (MRI and CT) are used to diagnose almost all types of this disease. These are progressive research methods that make it possible to obtain layer-by-layer images of organs and their three-dimensional projection.

To identify fibrosis of the uterus or endometrium, in addition to a biopsy, it is necessary to undergo an intravaginal ultrasound examination.

Treatment

Similar to the diagnostic process, treatment for fibrosis depends on which organ is affected. In order for liver fibrosis therapy to be successful, the most important thing is to diagnose it in time. If liver damage is diagnosed in the later stages, a complete cure is impossible. So, to cure the liver, the following therapeutic measures are used:

Therapy aimed at curing the underlying disease that led to fibrosis.
Drugs that inhibit the activity of collagen producers and stimulants of macrophages.
Anti-inflammatory drugs.

Lung involvement is more treatable than hepatic fibrosis. The doctor decides how to cure it, depending on the degree of tissue damage. However, stopping a scar in the lung is also not an easy task. Therapy includes:

Treatment of the underlying disease.
Drugs whose action is aimed at reducing proliferative processes.
Physiotherapy – breathing exercises, special exercises, etc.
Oxygen inhalation.
Surgical removal of foci of fibrosis (in case of diffuse lesions - lung transplantation).

Scar lesions of the prostate are easy to treat. For its treatment, medications (antibiotics, cytostatics, anti-inflammatory drugs, etc.), vitamins and physiotherapy (warming the prostate with UV rays, massage, etc.) are used.

Complications

Despite the fact that fibrosis is already a complication caused by another disease, it can lead to the development of even more serious consequences. Untreated liver disease leads to the development of portal hypertension, varicose veins of the intestine and esophagus, ascites and ultimately cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Due to lung damage, respiratory failure, pulmonary hypertension and pathologies of the cardiovascular system develop. Changes in the uterus or mammary gland can lead to loss of their functions, which will serve as a reason for removal in order to prevent the process from becoming malignant.

Prevention

Diagnosis and treatment of fibrosis is a time-consuming and expensive process. It is always better to make efforts to prevent the disease so that you never find out what it is.

The main condition for preventing fibrosis is paying attention to your health. All diseases of an infectious or other nature must be treated. And if you detect suspicious symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor.

An elementary preventive measure is to quit smoking, drugs and alcohol. If these are difficult measures for you, then try to reduce their consumption to a minimum - moderate alcohol consumption does not lead to liver disease. You should also not overuse medications. Any medications and the period for taking them must be prescribed by a doctor.

Take care of your lifestyle. A healthy diet and regular physical activity never hurt anyone.

Diseases

Significant thickening of connective tissue is called fibrosis. With this disease, cicatricial changes begin in organs, which leads to disruptions in their functioning. For example, pulmonary insufficiency develops in the respiratory system, which prevents a person from leading a normal lifestyle. Often this condition is provoked by infections or allergens from the external environment. Overgrowth of connective tissue in the lungs and liver is often observed in smokers and those who frequently drink alcoholic beverages. Frequent stress, which weakens the body's defense mechanisms, is also considered a risk factor.

Symptoms and signs

At the initial stage, any type of fibrosis occurs without any symptoms. A person can work, play sports, do what he is used to, and he has no reason to worry. However, after a certain time the following symptoms begin to appear:

Signs vary depending on which organ has fibrosis. For example, in women’s breasts, a connective tissue lump can be felt only when it reaches medium size. At the same time, there is no pain in this part of the body and no general state of fatigue.

Types of fibrosis: focal and total

The disease affects the organ partially or completely. Depending on the location, there are two types of fibrosis: focal and total. Both of them are found in the lungs, liver, prostate gland, pancreas, heart, female and male genital organs. Focal fibrosis may not manifest itself for a long time. For 6-8 years, patients often do not develop any symptoms. They can lead a normal lifestyle, even play sports.

The total form usually appears at the last stage of development of the disease. With it, many dense knots cover the tissue. Usually such a formation is benign, although hospital patients are often prescribed a biopsy.

In addition, focal fibrosis can be:

cardiac;
congenital;
idiopathic.

In most cases, radiation exposure leads to the appearance of focal fibrosis. It is most often typical for women being treated for malignant tumors in the mammary glands. They are usually diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. As a result, two ailments appear. You can reduce the risk of radiation exposure by taking multivitamin complexes and leading a healthy lifestyle.

As for the reasons, these include the following factors:

chronic inflammatory processes;
injuries;
viral diseases;
hormonal changes;
allergic reactions;
immunological changes.

Doctors also divide the causes of fibrosis, depending on its location.

The disease is rarely diagnosed at an early stage. As a rule, it occurs without obvious symptoms. Patients consult a doctor only if they begin to worry about fatigue, shortness of breath, or acute pain. Essentially, the answer to the question “which doctor treats fibrosis?” does not exist. This is due to the fact that formations in each organ are treated by a specialized specialist. To find out which specialist you need, consult a doctor in the following specialty:

At a doctor’s appointment, the patient is asked essentially the same questions, regardless of the location of the fibrosis:

How long have you been tired?
Is it difficult for him to climb stairs or go on long walks?
Are you having problems urinating?
How long has it been since he had fluorography?
When was the last time you examined your heart and liver?
How many pregnancies and births have you already had (women)?
Do you often get bronchitis?

Having received answers to the questions, the doctor will be able to assess the general condition of the patient. Most likely, additional tests will be ordered. These include urine and blood tests, ultrasound, chest x-ray, computed tomography and MRI. Usually, 1-2 methods are chosen in order to understand in which organ the abnormal process began.

What if fibrosis is left untreated?

The growth of connective tissue in small quantities does not pose a serious danger. However, with total fibrosis, deaths are likely. Therefore, patients should seek help from specialists in a timely manner. In this case, there is a chance to remove the formations so that the organs can function normally. Many patients ask that if fibrosis is not treated on time, is there a high risk of developing serious complications? The answer can only be yes.

The most common consequences of the proliferation of connective tissue in organs include:

Complications can be avoided if treatment is started on time. It can be conservative or surgical. In addition, you should give up smoking and alcohol abuse, cure chronic ailments, and eliminate hormonal disorders. As for the surgical method, it is usually used in cases where medications do not help. Then the doctor excises the affected tissue. Sometimes a healthy organ transplant is necessary.

Also, to prevent the development of complications, the following may be prescribed:

oxygen therapy;
plasmapheresis;
antiviral therapy;
diet;
magnetic therapy;
ultrasound therapy.

Traditional treatment of fibrosis

Connective tissue cells do not disappear on their own. Traditional treatment of fibrosis is relevant when the patient wants to minimize the likelihood of further growth of the formation. With the right methods, this can be achieved. Typically, for various forms of the disease, it is recommended:

The mass, twisted in a meat grinder from leaves and stems, is mixed with pork fat or butter one to one. from celandine and used for breast fibrosis
These components are mixed in equal quantities and taken 4 times a day, one tablespoon.

– this is a compaction of connective tissue in various organs, accompanied by the occurrence of scar changes.

Fibrosis can be a disease that affects any organ in the human body. This disease begins with the production of large amounts of collagen in the organ. Over time, the connective tissue reaches an amount that exceeds the norm, which provokes a process of displacing normal cells that are necessary for the normal functioning of the organ.

Fibrosis is closely related to the formation of most pathologies. For example, cataracts are the result of fibrosis of the eye's lens. Fibrosis can cause infertility in women. The most common pathology is fibrosis of the liver and lungs. Since connective tissue is not able to regenerate into healthy tissue, complete recovery is impossible. But with proper treatment and supervision from a specialist, people with fibrosis can live a full and long life.

Causes of fibrosis.

As a rule, fibrosis occurs as a result of injury, radiation, or as a result of an infectious-allergic process.

Pulmonary fibrosis can be triggered by prolonged inhalation of dust, granulomatous diseases, radiation exposure, etc.

Liver fibrosis can occur as a result of damage to this organ, for example, due to viral hepatitis.

Focal fibrosis of the female breast can develop as a result of fibrocystic mastopathy, which occurs due to hormonal imbalance.

Symptoms and signs of fibrosis.

The first stages of fibrosis are asymptomatic. Subsequently, the manifestations of the developing disease become more pronounced. Signs of liver fibrosis are similar to those of end-stage liver failure and portal hypertension.

With pulmonary fibrosis, shortness of breath, heart failure, bronchitis, cyanosis of the skin, and shallow rapid breathing are noted.

With breast fibrosis in women, a formation can be detected only by palpating an already medium-sized fibrous tumor. There is no pain in this case.

Diagnosis of fibrosis.

To diagnose liver fibrosis, it is necessary to perform a liver biopsy, fibromax, fibrotest, fibroellastography, ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, and an objective examination of the patient by a gastroenterologist.

To diagnose pulmonary fibrosis, it is necessary to conduct a survey X-ray of organs located in the chest area. If necessary, targeted radiography and tomography can be used. To determine the condition of the lung tissue, computed tomography is used.

To determine focal breast fibrosis in women, breast ultrasound and mammography are performed. The final diagnosis will be determined by histological and cytological examination.

Treatment of fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis during the period of decompensation requires treatment in a hospital setting, in which the same therapy is used as for chronic hepatitis.

For swelling and ascites, strict restrictions on sodium and foods containing sodium compounds are prescribed; drug therapy is also carried out using diuretics, albumin, and drugs to stop gastric, intestinal and esophageal bleeding.

To treat pulmonary fibrosis, it is necessary to take preventive measures to avoid the rapid progression of this disease by eliminating all probable causes. For pulmonary fibrosis, experts recommend following a healthy diet, doing breathing exercises and avoiding stressful situations.

Treatment of breast fibrosis involves correction of hormonal balance, use of antihomotoxicological drugs and immunomodulatory agents.