From the 1991 NIAAA publication, Alcohol Research: Promise for the Decade. Department of Health and Human Services.
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From the 1991 NIAAA publication, Alcohol Research: Promise for the Decade. Department of Health and Human Services. |
The liver is involved in many essential functions in the body including excretion, immunology, metabolism, circulation, and detoxification. It is also significantly damaged by chronic alcohol abuse and some conditions may lead to death. Alcohol consumption alters the ability of the liver to function in carbohydrate metabolism, conversion of amino acids to proteins, lipid metabolism, and detoxification of chemical substances. Impairment of this last function leads to damage in other organs. Through the metabolism of alcohol in the liver, many problems may be produced. During ethanol metabolism, alcohol is oxidized by alcohol dehydrogenase activity and is transformed into acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde, a toxic and reactive compound, is one of the major factors in alcoholic liver disease. Not only does acetaldehyde produce toxins causing disease, but, because it is reactive, it forms compounds with natural proteins and cell membrane components that then appear foreign to the body and are attacked by antibodies. Thus natural proteins are removed from the body. Diseases caused by chronic alcoholism include the development of a fatty liver, perivenular fibrosis, hepatitis, and hepatic cirrhosis. Fatty liver is a reversible condition common to alcoholics that causes enlargement of the liver. Hepatitis involves inflammation and destruction of liver tissue and can lead to death.
Cirrhosis is irreversible and in 1986 was the ninth leading cause of death in the United States. In this disease, healthy tissue is replaced by scar tissue and leads to failure of the organ. In this image, the liver on the bottom is cirrhotic, note extensive scarring and color changes.
