ALCOHOL MODULATION OF IMMUNE FUNCTION - CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL-DATA

In both animal and human studies, ethanol seems to modulate host immun e function. In a variety of animal studies, ethanol has been shown to decrease lymphocyte function and number. In human studies of patients with alcoholic hepatitis, these abnormalities were also seen with spec ific correlation with protein malnutrition. Hepatic pathological lesio ns were also correlated with lymphocyte subset infiltration. However, peripheral blood lymphocytes did not correlate consistently with hepat ic histopathology.