Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
Excellent detailed article by John M. Vierling, MD, FACP.  Dr. Vierling explains PBC in depth without being overly technical.

My opinion: Must read; the best overall explanation of PBC and its treatment I have ever found.  While it is fairly long, it has a very good table of contents to help the reader locate specific information.

The Natural History of PBC: Has It Changed?
The dramatic, positive effects of ursodiol treatment for PBC by Young-Mee Lee, MD and Marshall M. Kaplan, MD.  Free Medscape membership required.

My opinion: Must read; show this article to your doctor if you have not been prescribed ursodiol.  Some doctors wait for patients to develop PBC symptoms (e.g. elevated Alkaline Phosphatase, cholestasis, pruritis, etc.) before starting UDCA therapy.  Others believe UDCA only masks the effects of PBC by reducing the values of liver function tests.  All evidence indicates a patient cannot start taking ursodiol too early in the course of this disease.

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) - Management of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
Official diagnosis decision path and treatment protocol document for Primary Biliary Cirrhosis by E. Jenny Heathcote, MD.  Adobe Acrobat Reader required.

My opinion: Very technical; show this to your doctor if your diagnosis is uncertain or if you are not being treated with ursodiol.

What is Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC)?
Brief article about PBC from the American Liver Foundation (ALF).

My opinion: Appropriate for sharing with interested family and friends but falls far short of the necessary information a newly diagnosed PBC patient requires.

Ursodiol Dosage for PBC
Are you taking enough ursodiol?  Dosing chart for Urso 250®, Actigall, generic ursodiol and Urso Forte™.

Food for thought about Primary Billiary Cirrhosis in 2006
Brief article about the state of PBC research from Dr. M. Eric Gershwin's lab at the University of California, Davis.

The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library:
Professional Edition: Cirrhosis § Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC)
Second Home Edition: Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC)

My opinion: Inexcusably out-of-date and unnecessarily alarming, both articles lead the reader to believe liver transplantation is inevitable.  These articles are mentioned here only because there is value in knowing what appears in the references that supposedly everyone turns to first.

Guidelines for Therapy of Autoimmune Liver Disease
Less technical article about the treatment and complications of Autoimmune Hepatitis and Primary Biliary Cirrhosis than the AASLD article above.  Free Medscape membership required.

Colorado State University Hypertextbooks: The Liver and Biliary System
Detailed, somewhat technical series of articles about the workings of the liver with animated illustrations.

Hepatitis Vaccination in Patients With Chronic Liver Disease
Article explaining why PBC patients should be vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B.  Free Medscape membership required.

US Food and Drug Administration Electronic Orange Book
FDA searchable database of approved drug products with their therapeutic equivalents.  Search by brand name or active ingredient.

Nutrition Source, Harvard School of Public Health
Information on diet, nutritional supplements, exercise and more.

About Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products
Searchable database from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Integrative Medicine Service, including hepatotoxic data for a number of herbs and natural supplements.

Blood Chemistry Test Information
From "Len", PBC Digest 1736

How to interpret your blood test results
Amarillo Medical Specialists description of a variety of lab tests.