Alcohol, Cirrhosis, and Genetic Predisposition

......................................... Received: 15-12-14 Accepted: 26-01-16 Abstract Liver cirrhosis is the third most common cause of death attributable to alcohol consumption throughout the world. More than 80% of chronic drinkers develop steatosis, and 20% to 40% develop other complications such as fibrosis, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis. However, not everyone who chronically consumes alcohol develops cirrhosis. This is partly because of the genetic component of each individual. The level of activity of the enzymes that metabolize alcohol is influenced by polymorphisms of the genes that coding for these enzymes. This is one of the determining factors in the development of terminal liver disease in response to alcohol consumption. Among the enzymes involved in alcohol metabolism are alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). It has been reported that higher levels of activity of ADH and CYP2E1 and lower levels of activity of ALDH may be risk factors in some populations for accumulation of acetaldehyde which is toxic for the organism. This literature review covers the most important aspects of alcohol metabolism including polymorphisms (genotypes) of enzymes involved in the metabolism of alcohol as a risk factor. A search through the PubMed database from 1990 to be held 2013 was conducted using the keywords alcoholic liver disease, ADH, ALDH, CYP2E1, and polymorphism.