How do drugs cause liver disease?
Drugs can cause liver disease in several ways. Some drugs are directly injurious to the liver; others are transformed by the liver into chemicals that can be injurious to the liver directly or indirectly. (This may seem strange in light of the liver’s important role in transforming toxic chemicals into nontoxic chemicals, but it happens.) There are three types of liver toxicity; dose-dependent toxicity, idiosyncratic toxicity, and drug allergy. Drugs that cause dose-dependent toxicity can cause liver disease in most people if enough of the drug is taken. The most important example of dose-dependent toxicity is acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdose (discussed later in this article.).
