[Alcoholic and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: the same disease! I. Diagnosis and mechanisms]

Alcoholic steatohepatitis includes steatosis, inflammatory changes and hepatocellular damage. In severe form, jaundice and hepatic failure persist for several weeks, while non severe alcoholic steatohepatitis may follow an insidious course towards cirrhosis. Except for alcohol consumption, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis shares histological features and pathogenic mechanisms with alcoholic steatohepatitis, and is associated to the development of cirrhosis over time. Thus, given the increasing epidemics of the metabolic syndrome in industrialized countries, it is likely that alcoholic cirrhosis has been overdiagnosed in the past years. Obesity, insulin resistance and the oxidative stress including iron-mediated oxidative stress are involved both in alcoholic and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.