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Alcoholic adaptive hepatopathy
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
Alcoholic adaptive hepatopathy (hepatomegaly) is observed in 20% of patients with chronic alcoholism. This form of liver damage is characterized by hyperplasia of the endoplasmic reticulum against the background of decreased activity of alcohol dehydrogenase, an increase in the number of peroxisomes and the appearance of giant mitochondria. Alcoholic hepatomegaly is a compensatory-adaptive reaction of the liver to increased synthesis of acetaldehyde, the formation of a large number of peroxide compounds, impaired protein synthesis and oxidation of fatty acids.
The characteristic clinical features of adaptive alcoholic hepatopathy are:
- absence of subjective manifestations or the presence of mild pain in the liver area;
- slight enlargement of the liver;
- a significant increase in the activity of y-glutamyl transpeptidase in the blood serum in the absence of changes in liver function tests.
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