Dielectric Properties of Wood

Abstract

The liver is the main organ for alcohol metabolism and is therefore predisposed for various functional changes and irreversible alterations. The alcoholic fatty liver represents the early stage of alcohol-induced liver diseases and is completely reversible upon consequent alcohol abstinence. Already at this early stage a significant increase of gamma-glutamyltransferase activities is commonly found in the serum, which can mainly be attributed to an enzyme induction in the endoplasmic reticulum of the liver cell. Other stages of alcohol-induced liver diseases include the alcoholic hepatitis and the liver cirrhosis, which have a better prognosis upon consequent alcohol abstinence compared to continuous alcohol consumption. Many therapeutic studies with various drugs have been carried out in patients with alcohol-induced liver diseases, but at present a treatment with drugs in a sufficiently great number of patients has not been firmly established. The most important medical goal is to establish the diagnosis of alcohol-induced liver diseases already at the early stage of the fatty liver in order to initiate the necessary therapeutic measures with the aim of a consequent alcohol abstinence.