Alcohol consumption and diseases of the liver

Alcoholic liver damage is only produced by constant alcohol intake. Close dose and time relationships are apparent. For many years, alcoholic fatty liver is the only noticeable alteration. It is completely reversible in 2-4 weeks when ethanol intake is stopped. After about 6 years of chronic abuse alcoholic hepatitis may develop. Once established it progresses within weeks or months to cirrhosis if ethanol intake is not discontinued. On the other hand, alcoholic hepatitis heals under complete abstenence from alcohol with unimportant fibrosis. After over-indulgence in alcohol over a period of 22 years, there is a 50% probability of cirrhosis. This shows clearly that the resistance of the liver to alcohol varies considerably in different individuals. Even in early stages of alcoholic cirrhosis the prognosis is reasonable. If these patients observe complete abstenence from ethanol, their life expectation is only slightly different from the average of the population. The extent of the consumption of alcohol is of decisive importance for the development of cirrhosis. New and very careful investigations reveal that the susceptibility to alcohol is different in both sexes. For men the danger level would thus appear to be around 60 g and for women around 20 g of pure alcohol a day. Beyond these critical levels the morbidity of cirrhosis multiplies almost in geometric progression with increasing amounts of ethanol.