Alcoholic liver disease (ALD), caused by chronic and heavy alcohol consumption, is one of the most prevalent liver diseases. Although much progress has been made over last three decades of research on the mechanisms underlying ALD development, it remains an important health problem, affecting millions of patients worldwide each year. The disease process is characterized by early steatosis, steatohepatitis, with some individuals ultimately progressing to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver failure. Although the disease progression is well characterized, there is currently no accepted therapies available to halt or reverse this process in humans. Therefore, a better understanding of the mechanism(s) and risk factors that mediate the initiation and progression of this disease is essential and urgently required for the development of rational therapies to prevent or treat it in the clinics.
Although the incidence rate of alcoholic liver disease is less than that of non-alcoholic liver disease, the risk of ALD is much higher than that of non-alcoholic liver disease. It is estimated that alcohol abuse-caused hepatic cirrhosis accounts for more than half of the risk of cirrhosis. Therefore, the pathological mechanisms of ALD should be systematically revealed for searching the potential therapeutic targets. With the development of chemical separation and analysis technology, more and more plant chemicals with clear structure have been found from traditional medical herbs. Some phytochemicals possess strong abilities in defending hepatic oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and inflammation, which are hallmarks of ALD. These phytochemicals have the potential to be used to treat ALD.
This Research Topic aims at collecting the manuscripts revealing the pathological process and therapeutic targets of alcoholic liver diseases, including all alcohol-relative liver diseases. We welcome novel findings in exploring the anti-ALD function of phytochemicals with clear chemical structure from traditional medical herbs or plant foods. We also welcome novel findings in exploring the anti-ALD function of nutrients.
Potential topics include but not limited to the following:
• Pathogenesis of ALD, including hepatic steatosis, hepatitis, hepatic fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma et al.
• Novel therapeutic targets of ALD.
• Research on ALD based on omics technology.
• Prevention and treatment of ALD using herbal medicines/ medicinal foods and (pure) natural products, provided that these manuscripts comply with the
Four Pillars of Best Practice.
• Prevention and treatment of ALD by nutrients.
Original research articles, review articles, and short communications will be accepted for this Research Topic.
Note: Clinical trials are not suitable for this issue. Experiments only using in vitro cell models are not welcome. Only medicinal plant products with well-defined composition and plant extracts with standardized chemical constituents will be considered in this project.
Please carefully consider the section where you submit your manuscript, as manuscripts must fit the scope of the section you are submitting to. See the "ABOUT" tab of the participating sections for more details