Alcoholic liver disease has once again entered our collective conscience.  A paper in 2012 showed the utility of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in acute alcoholic hepatitis.  As expected, this opened the floodgates.  Every liver transplant program in the USA is now under pressure to list and transplant patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD), resulting n a shift in the type of patients to admit and list for OLT.  In consultation with Dr. Norman Gitlin, Dr. Norman Sussman and Dr. Michael Lucey have put together a collection of articles on current practices and future trends in the management of alcohol-related diseases. Expert authors from top institutions have contributed articles on the following topcs: Histopathology; Alcohol and the Law; Alcoholic Liver Disease in Children; Alcohol Use Disorder; Pathogenesis of ALD; Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis; Nutrition and Malnutrition in ALD; Alcoholic Cirrhosis; Liver Transplantation for Alcoholic Liver Disease; CNS effects of Alcohol; and Will Studies in NASH Help to Manage AS. Readers will come away with current clinical information to help them to make clinical decisions that will improve patient outcomes.

Alcohol abuse remains a significant problem world-wide. The most commonly affected organ remains the liver with a risk of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) which can range from asymptomatic to alcoholic hepatitis to alcoholic cirrhosis. In 2010, alcohol-attributable cirrhosis was responsible for 0.9% of all global deaths. Given the sheer magnitude of alcohol abuse and alcoholic liver disease, an update on this topic is pertinent and relevant. This issue will focus on a variety of topics including alcoholism, the pathogenesis of ALD, the spectrum of ALD, the pathology of ALD, and the long-term management of patients with ALD. Alcoholic hepatitis is a particular type of ALD with a high mortality. This issue will explore the syndrome of alcoholic hepatitis, its prognostic markers, and the available therapies. Because alcohol intake can influence so many other conditions of the liver (especially hepatitis C), articles in this issue will also explore the impact of alcohol abuse on other liver conditions. In addition, several other topics such as nutritional therapy for ALD, ALD and liver cancer, and ALD and infection risk will be explored. Also, even though it is quite controversial, we will also explore liver transplant as a therapy for alcoholic liver disease including alcoholic hepatitis.