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Alcoholic liver disease and intestinal microecology
Ya Yang, Guo Ai, Ming Wang
Ya Yang, Ming Wang, Department of Infectious Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China
Guo Ai, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China
Supported by: Health and Family Planning Commission of Hubei Province, No. WJ2017M068.
Corresponding author: Ming Wang, Attending Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China. apple_wmy@163.com
Received: October 22, 2018 Revised: November 15, 2018 Accepted: December 17, 2018 Published online: January 8, 2019
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is damage to the liver that occurs after excessive alcohol use over a long period of time, which is mainly characterized by hepatocyte steatosis and fat storage, and the disease spectrum includes steatosis, steatohepatitis, alcoholic fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Steatosis and early steatohepatitis are reversible after cessation of alcohol use. Although the pathogenesis of ALD is not yet fully understood, many studies have shown that the intestinal microecological dysbiosis is closely related to the occurrence and development of ALD. Chronic alcohol use may cause intestinal microecological dysbiosis by leading to increased intestinal mucosal permeability, intestinal flora imbalance, and bacterial translocation, which can then activate immune response, induce an inflammatory response in the liver, and thus lead to liver damage. Based on this situation, we can adjust the intestinal flora imbalance to achieve the goal of treating ALD by using various methods such as supplementing probiotics or prebiotics, properly using antibiotics, and performing fecal microbiota transplantation. In addition, targeted therapy for intestinal bacterial imbalance has also become a hotspot in current research.
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