21.   The specific contribution of malnutrition to the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease has been extensively reviewed and remains highly controversial.

22.   There is no doubt that some patients with alcoholic liver disease have evidence of malnutrition, but it is not a universal finding.

23.   However, a number of problems confront investigators applying this technique to studies of alcoholic liver disease.

24.   An appreciation of these difficulties is important when interpreting the results of studies which have examined factors potentially involved in genetic susceptibility to alcoholic liver disease.

25.   These results strongly implicate acetaldehyde as one of the important pathogenetic factors in the development of alcoholic liver disease.

26.   The role of these polymorphisms in a predisposition to alcoholic liver disease has now been examined in two studies.

27.   There is some evidence to support an immunological component in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease.

28.   The age and sex distribution in both groups were similar as was the proportion of patients with alcoholic liver disease.

29.   Also, laminin has been related to alcohol abuse and alcoholic liver disease.

30.   Other authors have also found a correlation with severity in alcoholic liver diseases as classified by other indices.