Alcoholic liver injury: influence of gender and hormones.
This article discusses several subjects pertinent to a consideration of the role of gender and hormones in alcoholic liver injury (ALI). Beginning with an overview of factors involved in the pathogenesis of ALI, we review changes in sex hormone metabolism resulting from alcohol ingestion, summarize research that points to estrogen as a cofactor in ALI, consider evidence that gut injury is linked to liver injury in the setting of alcohol, and briefly review the limited evidence regarding sex hormones and gut barrier function. In both women and female animals, most studies reveal a propensity toward greater alcohol-induced liver injury due to female gender, although exact hormonal influences are not yet understood. Thus, women and their physicians should be alert to the dangers of excess alcohol consumption and the increased potential for liver injury in females.
Department of Medicine, Hepatology and Nutrition, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. pkeagon2@pitt.edu
Patricia K
PK
Eagon
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D000818:Animals; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D004731:Endotoxins; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D000431:Ethanol