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Home > QR-E-Letter Archive > 03-16-2006
Issue No. 28 March 16, 2006
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QUICK REFERENCE #38: What is alcoholic liver disease?
Because the liver is the chief organ responsible for metabolizing alcohol, it is especially vulnerable to alcohol-related injury. Even as few as three drinks at one time may have toxic effects on the liver when combined with certain over-the-counter medications, such as those containing acetaminophen.
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) includes three conditions: fatty liver (steatosis), alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis.
Steatosis: Heavy drinking for as little as a few days can lead to “fatty” liver, or steatosis—the earliest stage of alcoholic liver disease and the most common alcohol-induced liver disorder. Steatosis is marked by an excessive buildup of fat inside liver cells. This condition can be reversed, however, when drinking stops.
Alcoholic Hepatitis: Drinking heavily for longer periods may lead to a more severe, and potentially fatal condition, alcoholic hepatitis—an inflammation of the liver. Symptoms include nausea, lack of appetite, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain and tenderness, jaundice, and, sometimes, mental confusion. The presence of alcoholic hepatitis is a red flag that cirrhosis may soon follow: Up to 70 percent of all alcoholic hepatitis patients eventually may go on to develop cirrhosis. Patients with alcoholic hepatitis who stop drinking may have a complete recovery from liver disease, or they still may develop cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis: In cirrhosis, healthy liver cells are replaced by scar tissue (fibrosis), leaving the liver unable to perform its vital functions. Cirrhosis of the liver is a major cause of death in the United States. In 2000, it was the 12th leading cause of death. Cirrhosis mortality rates vary substantially among age groups: They are very low among young people, but increase considerably in middle age. In fact, cirrhosis is the fourth leading cause of death in people ages 45–54.
SOURCE: Excerpted and adapted (with some paraphrasing) from Alcohol Alert (#64, January 2005), published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The complete Alcohol Alert issue is available at
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa64/AA64.pdf.
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