Lipid Peroxidation in Alcoholic Liver Disease in Humans

The lipoperoxide level in liver as well as serum in alcoholic patients was measured by using the thiobarbituric acid method. Heavy drinkers with deposition of fat in liver had a significantly (p less than 0.001) higher level of hepatic lipoperoxide examined in about 7 days after abstinence than did nonalcoholic individuals with histologically normal liver. Of these heavy drinkers, cases with a remarkably high level of liver lipoperoxide showed a high incidence of hepatic cell necrosis. The hepatic lipoperoxide level was correlated with the serum lipoperoxide level in these heavy drinkers (r = 0.750, p less than 0.001). In chronic alcoholics, high levels of serum lipoperoxide were usually observed on admission, and a significant positive correlation was found between the serum lipoperoxide level and serum GOT activity (r = 0.541, p less than 0.01). After a 2-wk abstinence, the levels of serum lipoperoxide decreased, which was associated with improvement of liver function tests. These results suggest a possible involvement of lipid peroxidation in alcohol-induced liver damage in humans.