Alcoholic liver disease: Symptoms, treatment, and causes

Liver enzymes transform alcohol into acetaldehyde, a compound that is extremely toxic to human cells and can result in cell damage when produced in large quantities. Studies using animals are helping researchers find other dietary supplements that may help in the treatment of liver disease. For example, eating certain healthy fats (called medium-chain triglycerides, or https://homeloans8.com/2017/03 MCTs) may help to reduce the buildup of harmful fats in the liver. MCTs generally are available only in health food stores as a dietary supplement.

Liver Disease Patients Dramatically Improve Thanks to New Approach

A large organ, it performs many functions essential for good health. Among other things, the liver produces and secretes bile, a fluid that helps digest fats; metabolizes carbohydrates, fats, and proteins; and produces substances that are essential for blood clotting. Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) is caused by damage to the liver from years of excessive drinking. Alcohol abstinence is the first line of treatment, with periodic liver enzyme tests to monitor ongoing liver damage.

Other Factors Influencing ALD Development

Dr. Saraf emphasises that unless a person quits alcohol, there is little benefit to other treatments. Alcohol-related liver disease is a condition caused by excessive consumption of alcohol over a long period of time. This serious health issue affects many individuals worldwide, yet it often goes undetected in its initial stages. In this article, Dr. Neeraj Saraf from Medanta Gurugram explains the key aspects of this condition, from its silent beginnings to treatment options.

What Are the Warning Signs of Alcohol-Related Liver Damage?

People with severe alcohol dependency may stay at an inpatient rehabilitation facility for closer monitoring. The first step in treating any level of alcoholic liver disease focuses on removing alcohol from the diet. Drinking a large volume of alcohol can cause fatty acids to collect in the liver. Sometimes, heavy drinking over a short period, even less than a week, can cause this. It can be easy for someone to dismiss the early symptoms as the effects of a stomach bug or general malaise. However, leaving these symptoms undiagnosed and untreated — especially while continuing to consume alcohol — can lead to a faster progression of liver disease over time.

• It may be advisable to speak with your doctor about medical oversight when ceasing drinking.
• If the alcoholic liver disease is not treated, it can progress to later stages which include alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis, a scarring of the liver.
• Over time, heavy alcohol use can lead to cirrhosis, a condition in which healthy tissue is replaced with scar tissue.
• When liver damage has happened due to alcohol, it’s called alcohol-related liver disease.

Signs and Symptoms

This condition develops after years of alcohol-induced damage, as fibrotic tissue continues replacing functioning liver cells. When drinking continues after fatty liver develops, alcoholic hepatitis often follows. This serious inflammatory condition ranges from mild to life-threatening and indicates the liver is actively being damaged. Once a doctor diagnoses a person with alcoholic liver disease at any stage, they will recommend them to never resume drinking. Any conditions that have reversed will typically return once drinking restarts. In 2015, 16.5% of all liver transplants in the United States occurred due to alcoholic liver disease, making it the third most common reason for transplants behind chronic hepatitis C and liver cancer.

• If you regularly drink alcohol to excess, tell your GP so they can check if your liver is damaged.
• Binge drinking can also cause acute (sudden) alcoholic hepatitis, a rapid inflammation of the liver, which can be life-threatening.
• Protective strategies are straightforward but require commitment.
• However, if scarring (cirrhosis) has already set in, the damage may be permanent.

The doctor may also perform an endoscopy to check whether the veins in the esophagus are enlarged. This is a condition known as esophageal varices, and it can develop in people with alcohol-related hepatitis https://www.ride-with-the-devil.com/author/ride-with-the-devil/ or cirrhosis. These veins can rupture, which may result in severe, life-threatening bleeding. In addition to asking about symptoms that might indicate ALD, the doctor will ask questions about the patient’s consumption of alcohol. The patient may need to fill out a questionnaire about his or her drinking habits. At this stage, depending on the patient’s use of alcohol, the doctor may diagnose alcohol use disorder.

A casual glass of wine may seem harmless, but can cause problems over time

In addition, steroids have well-documented side effects, including increasing the risk of infection, which already is substantial in patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Strict abstinence from alcohol is important during treatment, as heavy drinking during treatment has been shown to hinder patients’ responses to therapy (8). Thus, for treatment to be most successful, clinicians recommend that alcoholic patients abstain from drinking alcohol at least 6 months prior to beginning interferon therapy. Light-to-moderate drinkers can begin treatment immediately and do not need a period of abstinence before starting therapy. Chronic drinking can also result in a condition known as alcohol-related liver disease. This is a disease in which alcohol use—especially long-term, excessive alcohol consumption—damages the liver, preventing it from functioning as it should.

Though it’s often silent at first, cirrhosis can become life-threatening as scar tissue builds up and liver function declines, potentially leading to chronic liver failure. Yet the relapse rates in patients following transplant are lower than in patients undergoing alcoholism treatment, and serious relapses that adversely affect the transplanted liver or the patient are uncommon. Scar tissue replaces healthy tissue, resulting in liver dysfunction. Cirrhosis can then lead to life-threatening complications, including liver failure, bleeding from enlarged veins, accumulation of fluid in the abdomen (ascites), and even liver cancer. At this stage, a liver transplant is often the only https://whomeopathy.org/journey-to-better-health.html treatment option.

• Many drinkers take in less than the recommended daily amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins (A, C, and B, especially thiamine B1), and minerals (such as calcium and iron).
• Alcoholic fatty liver disease appears early on as fat deposits accumulate in the liver.
• In order to understand alcohol’s effect on the liver, it’s helpful to know the role of the liver in overall health.
• For patients with severe alcohol-related hepatitis or severe alcohol-related cirrhosis who aren’t helped by other therapies, liver transplantation may be an option.
• About 90% of heavy drinkers will develop alcoholic fatty liver disease.
• Alcohol is one of several substances that can damage your liver.

Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis

The first step in treating alcohol-related cirrhosis is to find the support you or your loved one needs to stop drinking. It’s important to identify the trigger whenever possible in case the condition is reversible. A liver transplant is a challenging procedure, and the rules about who can receive an organ are complex. To confirm that alcohol-related cirrhosis has developed, a doctor will try to rule out other conditions that may affect the liver. Doctors can diagnose alcohol-related cirrhosis by first taking a medical history and discussing your drinking history. However, people with different genetic backgrounds or those with preexisting metabolic conditions may be more likely to develop the condition earlier than others, even with lower alcohol consumption.