Hélène Donnadieu-Rigole

Excessive alcohol consumption after liver transplantation impacts on long-term survival, whatever the primary indication

BACKGROUND & AIMS Beyond 5 years, poorer survival, related to alcohol relapse, is observed in patients with liver transplant for alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). However, alcohol consumption has been significantly understudied in non-ALD transplant recipients. We aimed at analyzing the impact of alcohol consumption on long-term survival irrespective of the indication for transplantation. METHODS This observational study included consecutive adult recipients of a primary liver graft between 1991 and 2007 in our hospital, who survived >6 months. Patients without ALD as primary indication, but with a history of excessive alcohol consumption before transplantation, were classified as secondary indication ALD. We studied the impact on survival of excessive consumption of alcohol after transplantation and several other variables. RESULTS The 441 patients had mean follow-up of 81.7 months. Among the 281 patients with excessive alcohol consumption before transplantation, 206 had ALD as primary indication. After transplantation, alcohol consumption was reported by 32.3% of the study population, 43.7% in primary indication ALD, and 24.3% in non-ALD patients. Survival was 82% at 5 years and 49% at 10 years for patients with excessive alcohol relapse, compared with 86% and 75%, respectively, for patients without persistent excessive alcohol relapse. By multivariable analysis, the independent risk factors of death were: excessive alcohol relapse, age >51 years, post-transplantation diabetes mellitus, cyclosporine-based immunosuppression, and non-hepatic cancer. CONCLUSIONS Excessive alcohol consumption has a negative impact on long-term survival after liver transplant, irrespective of the primary indication. Death is mainly due to recurrence of liver disease and non-hepatic cancer.

The role of genetic factors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and iron overload - a prospective series of 234 patients.

Iron overload (IO) in HFE‐related hereditary haemochromatosis is associated with increased risk of liver cancer. This study aimed to investigate the role of other genes involved in hereditary IO among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Effects of alcohol withdrawal on monocyte subset defects in chronic alcohol users.

Excessive alcohol consumption has a modulating effect on immune functions that may contribute to decreased immunity and host defense. It is associated with increased intestinal permeability to endotoxins that is normalized after 14 d of abstinence. Whether and how blood monocyte subsets are impaired in patients with an AUD and what their evolution is after alcohol withdrawal are the papers objectives. With the use of flow cytometry, blood monocyte subsets were quantified in AUDs before (n = 40) and 2 wk after (n = 33) alcohol withdrawal and compared with HC donors (n = 20). Expression of TLR2 and TLR4 on monocyte subsets was also quantified. Cytokine response of monocytes was monitored following PGN and LPS stimulation. The CD14+CD16− subset was decreased, whereas the CD14dimCD16+ subset was expanded (P < 0.001) in AUD compared with HC. The frequencies of TLR2‐ and TLR4‐expressing monocytes were reduced in AUD compared with HC. Although the basal production of IL‐1, IL‐6, and TNF by monocytes in AUD was compared with HC, the PGN‐ and LPS‐mediated IL‐6 and TNF production was increased in AUD. Frequencies of IL‐6‐expressing monocytes were higher in AUD than HC. Alcohol withdrawal partially restored the distribution of monocyte subsets and the frequency of IL‐6‐producing monocytes and increased the frequency of TNF‐producing cells in response to LPS and PGN stimulation to levels compared with those in HC. Our findings indicate that chronic alcohol use alters the distribution as well as the phenotypic and functional characteristics of blood monocyte subsets, which are partially restored following 2 wk of alcohol withdrawal.

The prevalence of optic neuropathy in alcoholic patients--a pilot study.

BACKGROUND Alcohol has particularly toxic effects on the central and peripheral nervous systems. Optic neuropathy (ON) is one of these neurological complications. Its diagnosis has not been codified, and its prevalence is poorly known. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the prevalence of ON and identify risk factors in a cohort of patients hospitalized for alcohol withdrawal. METHODS This was a single-center prospective study. A complete standardized eye examination was performed during the patients alcohol withdrawal; The data collected included: sociodemographic status; the number of withdrawals; the type and amount of alcohol drunk, tobacco, and illicit drug consumption; and ophthalmological results. RESULTS One hundred patients were included prospectively from January 2010 to June 2011 (67 men and 33 women) with a mean age of 47 ± 12 and 46 ± 10 years, respectively. The average alcohol consumption was higher for men than women: 207 ± 122 vs. 146 ± 92 g/d, p = 0.013. The most frequent definition of ON in the literature is a decrease in visual acuity associated with impaired color vision. Thirteen percent of men and 3% of women met these criteria. But monocular ON was observed in 22% of men and 18% women, and partial damage was demonstrated in 27% of men and 7% of women. CONCLUSIONS ON is a relatively rare complication of chronic alcohol consumption, but the high prevalence of incomplete forms should prompt screening and early treatment.

Addictive behaviors in liver transplant recipients: The real problem?

Liver transplantation (LT) is the gold standard treatment for end-stage liver disease. Whatever the primary indication of LT, substance abuse after surgery may decrease survival rates and quality of life. Prevalence of severe alcohol relapse is between 11 and 26%, and reduces life expectancy regardless of the primary indication of LT. Many patients on waiting lists for LT are smokers and this is a major risk factor for both malignant tumors and cardiovascular events post-surgery. The aim of this review is to describe psychoactive substance consumption after LT, and to assess the impact on liver transplant recipients. This review describes data about alcohol and illicit drug use by transplant recipients and suggests guidelines for behavior management after surgery. The presence of an addiction specialist in a LT team seems to be very important.

Alcohol use and smoking after liver transplantation; complications and prevention

The last thirty years have been very prosperous in the field of liver transplantation (LT), with great advances in organ conservation, surgical techniques, peri-operative management and long-term immunosuppression, resulting in improved patient and graft survival rates as well as quality of life. However, substance addiction after LT, namely alcohol and tobacco, results in short term morbidity together with medium and long-term mortality. The main consequences can be vascular (increased risk of hepatic artery thrombosis in smokers), hepatic (recurrent alcoholic cirrhosis in alcohol relapsers) and oncological (increased risk of malignancy in patients consuming tobacco and/or alcohol after LT). This issue has thus drawn attention in the field of LT research. The management of these two at-risk behaviors addictions need the implication of hepatologists and addiction specialists, before and after LT. This review will summarize our current knowledge in alcohol use and cigarette smoking in the setting of LT, give practical tools for identification of high risk patients and treatment options.