Alcohol-Related Liver Disease

Take Control with Early Liver Disease Treatment

Heavy drinking can have a big impact on your health. Liver disease may be one of the long-term consequences. If you develop liver problems because of your drinking, specialists in the Liver Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) are here to help. We can direct you to treatment for an alcoholic use disorder, as well.

What is Alcohol-Related Liver Disease or Alcoholic-Liver Disease (ALD)?

If you’re healthy, moderate alcohol consumption is usually safe. Moderate consumption is defined as one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. A drink is considered 12 ounces of beer, 8 ounces of malt, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof (40% alcohol content) distilled spirits or liquor. Long-term consumption beyond these limits may cause fat to build up inside your liver cells. The fat makes it difficult for your liver to function normally.

Alcoholic fatty liver disease is the earliest form of ALD. Untreated, it can progress to:

• Alcoholic hepatitis: inflammation of your liver
• Cirrhosis: buildup of scar tissue, which may ultimately result in liver failure

Tiredness and discomfort in your upper abdomen can be signs of fatty liver, but typically there are no symptoms.

Symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis may include:

• Abdominal tenderness and fluid accumulation
• Behavior changes because of a buildup of toxins that a fully functioning liver would break down and eliminate
• Fatigue, weakness and loss of appetite
• Jaundice, yellow discoloration of the eyes an skin
• Low-grade fever
• Nausea and vomiting

If you are concerned about your drinking or think that you may be dealing with alcoholism, you should speak with your primary care provider. Be aware, taking medicines with acetaminophen after drinking is very dangerous. The combination is a common cause of acute liver failure. It can lead to death or the need for an emergency liver transplant.

ALD Diagnosis & Treatment

To diagnose ALD, doctors will review your medical history and do a physical exam. They may also do blood tests to evaluate how well your liver is working or imaging tests.

Stopping drinking is key to treatment for ALD. Medication, counseling with our behavioral health specialists or other recovery programs may help. If you have alcoholic hepatitis, you may need to spend time in the hospital to receive nutritional support and medication. Cirrhosis treatment may include medication as well. But if you’ve had severe liver damage, a liver transplant may be necessary.

Our team of providers includes many specialists:

• Behavioral health therapists
• Nurses
• Nutritionists
• Physical therapists
• Physicians
• Social workers
• Transplant surgeons

They work together to bring you the most up-to-date therapies for ALD. Our team members also conduct research studies in hopes of finding better ways to diagnose and treat the condition. As a result, you may have opportunities to participate in clinical trials.