Vagaries of alcoholism and its clinical significance

In most countries chronic alcohol consumption is a medical problem of great magnitude with important socio- economic ramifications. Liver cirrhosis is one of the first causes of death among middle-aged subjects, especially males, and, in several populations studied, the evolution of the rate of mortality by cirrhosis is parallel to the amount of alcohol intake. Alcohol's adverse effects on the blood building, or hematopoietic, system are both direct and indirect. The direct consequences of excessive alcohol consumption include toxic effects on the bone marrow, the blood cell precursors and the mature red blood cells (RBC's), white blood cells (WBC's) and platelets. Alcohol's indirect effects include nutritional deficiencies that impair the production and function of various blood cells. The present review analyses the genetic factors altering the hepatic metabolism of alcohol, the metabolic changes produced in the liver during alcohol metabolism and their relationship with the pathogenesis of the disease,hematological changes, pharmacological interactions and various diseases associated with excessive alcohol consumption.