Abstention key to preventing liver decay
Mon April 20th, 2009
People with drinking problems who develop liver disease need to give up alcohol as soon as possible, British experts have warned.
Researchers at Southampton University, UK, say abstinence from alcohol is the key factor which decides survival from cirrhosis of the liver.
However advanced the disease, it is continued consumption of alcohol that may make it fatal, according to Dr Nick Sheron, a consultant liver specialist at Southampton General Hospital.
Writing in the journal Addiction, Dr Sheron says 72 per cent of patients who give up drinking survived for at least seven years - but only 44 per cent of those who continued to drink.
Dr Sheron warned that giving up was not always easy - and that anti-addiction services were not always available.
His conclusions come from a study of liver biopsies taken from patients who died over a five year period. The biopsies told how severe the liver disease was.
Dr Sheron said: "These findings illustrate the critical significance of stopping alcohol intake in alcohol-related cirrhosis, but unfortunately the services needed to help these patients stay alcohol-free simply do not exist in many parts of the UK.
"This study clearly confirms the common-sense knowledge amongst hepatologists that the single most important determinant of long-term prognosis in alcohol-induced cirrhosis is for the patient to stop drinking.
"At the most simplistic level, the successful management of alcohol-induced liver disease comprises two components; firstly to keep the patient alive long enough for them to stop drinking and secondly to maximise their chances of continued abstinence."
He called for greater efforts to help addicts give up and ensure they do not develop cirrhosis.
Tags: UK News | Internal Medicine | Drug & Alcohol Abuse
Printer friendly page