[Clinical and morphological features of alcoholic steatohepatitis]

48 patients with alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) were examined and divided into 3 groups according to the degree of fatty liver infiltration. It was minimal in 8 (16. 6%) patients, moderate in 10 (20.8%) and severe in 30 (62.5%) patients. The higher the degree of the fatty infiltration, the more pronounced dystrophic alterations and the more often necrosis, fibrosis and cell infiltration focuses were found in liver biopsy material. Morphologic changes in biopsy samples from ASH patients were much more pronounced in comparison with those in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The latter is characterized mostly by lymphocyte infiltration, while leukocyte infiltration is more typical of ASH. The study found prominent alterations in serum lipoprotein spectrum, triglyceride (TG) and saturated fatty acid concentrations in patients with ASH. High concentrations of chylomicrons, low-density lipoproteins and TG were registered together with low levels of high-density lipoproteins and albumin complex.