Relation of alcoholic liver injury to cirrhosis.

The earliest and most reproduceable lesion associated with chronic alcohol abuse is fatty liver. In some alcoholics this may be superseded by alcoholic hepatitis, which may represent the link between the early lesion and cirrhosis. Alcoholic cirrhosis usually begins as a regular, monolobular variety, but is eventually transformed into an irregular, multilobular type. All stages of alcoholic liver injury have now been produced in the baboon, despite high protein and vitamin supplemented diets. Alcohol may therefore now be regarded as a direct hepatotoxin. Epidemiological studies have indicated that alcoholic liver injury begins with an intake of more than 80 g ethanol a day, and that cirrhosis is generally not seen with an intake of less than 160 g per day. The development of cirrhosis correlates with the total duration and amount of alcohol ingested. Complications of alcoholic cirrhosis include iron overload and primary hepatic carcinoma.