Liver cirrhosis is a significant public health problem, being an important cause of mortality and morbidity, responsible for approximately 1.8% of the total number of deaths in Europe. Chronic alcohol consumption is the most common cause of liver cirrhosis in developed countries. Europe has the highest level of alcohol consumption among all the global World Health Organisation (WHO) regions. In this paper, we briefly review major factors leading to excessive alcohol consumption in order to draw attention to the fact that alcoholic liver cirrhosis is more than a simple liver disease, and if those risk/causal factors can be prevented, the incidence of this disease could be reduced greatly. Although excessive alcohol consumption is regarded as the cause of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, the etiology is complex, involving multiple factors that act in synchrony, and which, if prevented, could greatly reduce the incidence of this disease. Children of addicts are likely to develop an alcohol-related mental disorder; however, there is no "gene for alcoholism".

Chronic viral infections affecting the liver represents a global burden for medical comunities. More than 170 million individuals are infected chronically with hepatitis C virus (HCV), this accounting about 2�3% of the world�s population. Despite numerous progresses aquired in viral pahogenesis and treatment, chronic hepatitis C management is influenced by a multitude of factors. Interleukin IL-28 beta subunit (IL28B) demonstrated to be involved in both sustained virological response (SVR) to treatment, but even with spontaneous viral clearance without any therapy. In the era of direct antiviral agents (DAAs) we aimed to find out what was the real influence of IL28B phenotypes over the response to Peg-IFN and Ribavirin treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C, many of theses being non-responders or relapsers, and as consequence, to optimize the referal of patients to more expensive and efficient treatments. In a retrospectively manner, we analyzed the IL28B phenotype and its influence over the rapid viral response (RVR), early viral response (EVR) and sustained viral response (SVR), in 250 patients HCV treated patients. We made correlations between the treatment response rates and the IL28B polymorphism.TT phenotype was correlated negatively with all parameters studied, while CC phenotype was correlated with the best response rates. We concluded that IL28B phenotypes interfere with the EVR and SVR rates, IL28B phenotype being an independent prognostic factor for antiviral treatment response in our patient groups, and according to this characteristics, we created the premise to optimize the patients referal to expensive therapies as DAAs.

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Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI) has registered a dramatically increasing incidence in the general population over the past decades. Nowadays, Clostridium Difficile is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in Europe and North America. Liver cirrhosis is the final stage of any chronic liver disease (CLD). The most common causes are chronic hepatitis C or B and viral coinfections, alcohol misuse, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). CLD and cirrhosis are listed among the ten leading causes of death in the US. Cirrhosis due to any etiology disrupts the homeostatic role of the liver in the body. Cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction (CAID) leads to alterations in both inherited and acquired systemic and local liver immunity. CAID is caused by increased systemic inflammation and immunodeficiency and it is responsible for 30% of mortality rates all over the world. Clostridium Difficile infection frequently affects patients suffering from liver cirrhosis because of the high number of prolonged hospitalizations, regular use of antibiotics for the prevention or treatment of SBP, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use, and an overall immunocompromised state. Clostridium Difficile is a Gram-positive bacterium responsible for the high morbidity and mortality rates in patients with cirrhosis, with an essential increase in a 30-day mortality.