MicroRNA in alcoholic hepatitis: implications for pathophysiology and treatment

Alcoholic hepatitis alcoholic hepatitis (AH) represents a necroinflammatory complication of alcoholic liver disease, which affects a relatively small but considerable fraction of heavy drinkers with various degrees of underlying alcoholic liver damage. The true incidence of alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is unclear, but is found in around 20% of those with available liver histology, and estimated in approximately 10%–35% of alcoholics hospitalised for decompensating liver disease.1 Severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) severe alcoholic hepatitis (sAH) has a grave prognosis with a 1-month mortality rate of up to 50%, a figure assessed for patients with a discriminant function score of ≥32 in the initial treatment trial by Maddrey and coworkers.2 Since that time, advances in intensive care medicine, response-guided treatment of selected patients with corticosteroids and improved management of infectious complications contributed to a slightly better outcome of patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis (sAH).3 Although randomised...
Source: Gut - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research