Alcohol-related Liver Disease (ArLD) encompasses a range of liver conditions caused by excessive alcohol consumption. It begins with fatty liver disease often without any noticeable symptoms, and - if alcohol use continues - can progress to ArLD cirrhosis, potential leading to serious complications such as liver failure or cancer. A distinct and acute form of ArLD is acute alcohol-related hepatitis, which is marked by liver inflammation and symptoms like jaundice, nausea, and abdominal pain, and which carries high mortality rates, especially in patients not responding to medical therapy.
Moreover patients with ArLD often suffers of alcohol-use disorder (AUD) therefore their management implies the treatment of both components.
This group is mainly focused in prevention of ArLD, indentification of markers of disease progression, and management of patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis and acute alcohol-related hepatitis, with particular interest on selection criteria for liver transplantation and prevention of post-transplant alcohol-relapse.

Publications:

• Germani G, Degré D, Moreno C, Burra P. Workup and management of liver transplantation in alcohol-related liver disease. United European Gastroenterol J. 2024 Mar;12(2):203-209. doi: 10.1002/ueg2.12548. Epub 2024 Mar 8. PMID: 38456339
• Germani G, Mathurin P, Lucey MR, Trotter J. Early liver transplantation for severe acute alcohol-related hepatitis after more than a decade of experience. J. Hepatol. 2023 Jun;78(6):1130-1136. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2023.03.007.PMID:37208100
• Burra P, Zanetto A, Germani G. Liver Transplantation for Alcoholic Liver Disease and Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel). 2018 Feb 9;10(2):46. doi: 10.3390/cancers10020046. PMID:29425151
• Germani G, Angrisani D, Addolorato G, Merli M, Mazzarelli C, Tarli C, Lattanzi B, Panariello A, Prandoni P, Craxì L, Forza G, Feltrin A, Ronzan A, Feltracco P, Grieco A, Agnes S, Gasbarrini A, Rossi M, De Carlis L, Francesco D, Cillo U, Belli LS, Burra P. Liver transplantation for severe alcoholic hepatitis: A multicenter Italian study. Am J Transplant. 2022 Apr;22(4):1191-1200. doi: 10.1111/ajt.16936. Epub 2022 Jan 8. PMID:34954874
• Addolorato G, Abenavoli L, Dallio M, Federico A, Germani G, Gitto S, Leandro G, Loguercio C, Marra F, Stasi E. Alcohol associated liver disease 2020: A clinical practice guideline by the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF). Dig Liver Dis. 2020 Apr;52(4):374-391. doi: 10.1016/j.dld.2019.12.008. Epub 2020 Jan 27. PMID: 32001151
• Tarli C, Mannucci S, Vecchione M, Antonelli M, Sestito L, Mancarella FA, Tosoni A, Dionisi T, Maccauro V, Sario GD, Burra P, Germani G, Gasbarrini A, Addolorato G. Prothrombin time predicts steroid response in severe alcohol-related hepatitis. Liver Int. 2024 Mar;44(3):823-830. doi: 10.1111/liv.15835. Epub 2024 Jan 18.PMID:38238897
• Burra P, Senzolo M, Adam R, Delvart V, Karam V,Germani G, Neuberger J; ELITA; ELTR Liver Transplant Centers. Liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease in Europe: a study from the ELTR (European Liver Transplant Registry). Am J Transplant. 2010 Jan;10(1):138-48. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-6143.2009.02869.x. Epub 2009 Dec 1.PMID:19951276

Funding:

Ordinary Department funding

People involved:

Patrizia Burra, Full Professor
Francesco Paolo Russo, Associate Professor
Giacomo Germani, Associate Professor
Alberto Ferrarese, Assistant Professor
Alberto Zanetto, Assistant Professor

Group members:

Martina Gambato, Marco Senzolo (Consultant Hepatologists), Sara Battistella, Elisa Pinto, (Gastroenterology Fellow), Paola Zanaga (Study Coordinator).