Genetic and Non-genetic diseases of the liver - Research Paper Example

It is because of this that approximately 2 million Americans suffer from alcoholic liver disease (Bouneva et al 2003). Alcoholic liver disease is associated with a constellation of three conditions affecting the liver which include steatosis of the liver (which is commonly referred to as fatty liver), alcohol associated hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver. Steatosis of the liver is the initial stage which occurs with the formation of droplets of fat in the cells of the liver which leads to enlargement of the liver and gives it a yellow and oily appearance.

At this point all the changes of the liver can be reversed and the liver can acquire its normal histological state if the alcohol consumption is stopped. This is followed by the next stage which is the hepatitis of the liver due to alcohol. This is mainly the inflammation of the liver cells. The cells of the liver become swollen followed by the loss of the normal function of the cells. This is accompanied with Mallory bodies as well as the influx of neutrophils in the liver cells and finally it leads to increased fibrosis.

The inflammation of the liver can be resolved by stopping the alcohol consumption but it may take an extended period of time. If the disease progresses further it results in the final stage which is known as cirrhosis of the liver which is a condition that cannot be reversed (Walsh et al 1999, Kumar et al 2005, Bouneva et al 2003). There are many risk factors of this pathology which increase the susceptibility of developing this condition. There first risk factor is the amount of alcohol consumed.

Increased consumption increases the risk of the disease. The kind of alcohol that a person drinks is also associated with the extent of damage and it is seen that beers are more dangerous for the liver than wine. Malnourished individuals, females, people with deficiency of vitamin E as well as African Americans and Hispanics are at increased risk of developing alcoholic liver