Alcoholic diseases in hepato-gastroenterology: a point of view.

Alcohol damages every organ and system in the body. The most important effects from a clinical point of view relate to diseases of the circulatory, nervous and hepato-gastrointestinal systems. In the digestive tract the effects range from increased intestinal transit time and gastrophaties, leading to classical early morning nausea and diarrhea, through to significant malabsorption and chronic pancreatitis. In this review the mechanisms of alcoholic damage have been evaluated with particular reference to alcoholic liver disease (ALD). In particular, the natural history, the influence due to host genetic susceptibility and due to cofactors (i.e. hepatitis C virus), the clinical features and the hepatocarcinogenesis mechanisms have been evaluated. Finally, a possible role of abstinence in association with pharmacological therapy in the course of steatohepatitis has also been evaluated.