DOENÇA ALCÓOLICA 2018
INTRODUCTION
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the main causes of chronic liver disease worldwide and accounts for up to 48% of cirrhosis-associated deaths in the United States (1). Alcohol is also a frequent co-factor in patients with other type of liver disease such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection where it accelerates hepatic fibrosis (2). Owing to various susceptibility factors, individuals with long-term heavy alcohol use remain at risk for advanced liver disease with alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH), cirrhosis, and hepa- tocellular carcinoma (HCC) (3). Most patients with ALD present for medical care after they have developed jaundice or complications of cirrhosis (4). Identification of ALD in the primary-care setting at an early stage and subsequent behavioral interventions should thus be encouraged. Compared with the recent advances in viral hepatitis, few pharmacological advances have been made in the management of patients with ALD. To date, the most effective therapy to attenuate the clinical course of ALD and even reverse liver damage is prolonged alcohol abstinence (5,6).
