Alcohol Dependence and Alcoholic Liver Disease
Alcohol dependence is a disabling condition that has a high prevalence, but in Europe only a small fraction of the people diagnosed with alcohol abuse and dependence are treated, representing the widest treatment gap, as compared with other mental disorders. Early diagnosis and monitoring of alcohol...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Medical Journal
2015-01-01
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| Series: | European Medical Journal Hepatology |
| Online Access: | http://emjreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/Alcohol-Dependence-and-Alcoholic-Liver-Disease.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818268600901828608 |
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| author | Karl Mann Sebastian Mueller |
| author_facet | Karl Mann Sebastian Mueller |
| author_sort | Karl Mann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Alcohol dependence is a disabling condition that has a high prevalence, but in Europe only a small fraction of the people diagnosed with alcohol abuse and dependence are treated, representing the widest treatment gap, as compared with other mental disorders. Early diagnosis and monitoring of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is still insufficiently solved. Although ALD is the most common cause for liver disease in the Western world, it largely remains underestimated and underdiagnosed for many reasons. The recent introduction of non-invasive elastographic techniques such as transient elastography (TE) has significantly improved the early diagnosis of alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC). As demonstrated in the literature, inflammation-associated liver stiffness (LS) rapidly decreases during alcohol detoxification, and is also directly correlated to change in LS in both abstinent and relapsing patients. Newly published data show that LS could be used to monitor and validate hepatoprotective effects during nalmefene usage.
Nalmefene is an opioid system modulator that diminishes the reinforcing effects of alcohol, helping the patient to reduce drinking. Three randomised, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallelgroup Phase III studies were designed to assess the efficacy and safety of nalmefene in reducing alcohol consumption. Patients with a high or very high drinking risk level (DRL) at baseline and randomisation show a clinically significant effect from nalmefene treatment, which is generally well tolerated. Moreover, reduced alcohol consumption supported by nalmefene in combination with psychosocial support may indeed help to reduce the alcohol-related burden and the large treatment gap. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T20:41:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c727dde66ea743e9853ea65de2e17db0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2053-4221 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T20:41:04Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | European Medical Journal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Medical Journal Hepatology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c727dde66ea743e9853ea65de2e17db02022-12-22T00:12:43ZengEuropean Medical JournalEuropean Medical Journal Hepatology2053-42212015-01-01312026Alcohol Dependence and Alcoholic Liver DiseaseKarl Mann0Sebastian Mueller1Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany Department of Internal Medicine, Salem Medical Center and Center for Alcohol Research, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany Alcohol dependence is a disabling condition that has a high prevalence, but in Europe only a small fraction of the people diagnosed with alcohol abuse and dependence are treated, representing the widest treatment gap, as compared with other mental disorders. Early diagnosis and monitoring of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is still insufficiently solved. Although ALD is the most common cause for liver disease in the Western world, it largely remains underestimated and underdiagnosed for many reasons. The recent introduction of non-invasive elastographic techniques such as transient elastography (TE) has significantly improved the early diagnosis of alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC). As demonstrated in the literature, inflammation-associated liver stiffness (LS) rapidly decreases during alcohol detoxification, and is also directly correlated to change in LS in both abstinent and relapsing patients. Newly published data show that LS could be used to monitor and validate hepatoprotective effects during nalmefene usage. Nalmefene is an opioid system modulator that diminishes the reinforcing effects of alcohol, helping the patient to reduce drinking. Three randomised, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallelgroup Phase III studies were designed to assess the efficacy and safety of nalmefene in reducing alcohol consumption. Patients with a high or very high drinking risk level (DRL) at baseline and randomisation show a clinically significant effect from nalmefene treatment, which is generally well tolerated. Moreover, reduced alcohol consumption supported by nalmefene in combination with psychosocial support may indeed help to reduce the alcohol-related burden and the large treatment gap.http://emjreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/Alcohol-Dependence-and-Alcoholic-Liver-Disease.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Karl Mann Sebastian Mueller Alcohol Dependence and Alcoholic Liver Disease European Medical Journal Hepatology |
| title | Alcohol Dependence and Alcoholic Liver Disease |
| title_full | Alcohol Dependence and Alcoholic Liver Disease |
| title_fullStr | Alcohol Dependence and Alcoholic Liver Disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | Alcohol Dependence and Alcoholic Liver Disease |
| title_short | Alcohol Dependence and Alcoholic Liver Disease |
| title_sort | alcohol dependence and alcoholic liver disease |
| url | http://emjreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/Alcohol-Dependence-and-Alcoholic-Liver-Disease.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT karlmann alcoholdependenceandalcoholicliverdisease AT sebastianmueller alcoholdependenceandalcoholicliverdisease |