This article presents the proceedings of a symposium held at the meeting of the International Society for Biomedical Research on
Alcoholism in Mannheim, Germany, in October 2004. This symposium was dedicated to Charles S. Lieber in recognition of his contribution in alcohol research over the last 50 years. It was divided into two parts, namely effects of alcohol on the gastrointestinal tract and effects of alcohol on the liver. Major emphasis was given to recent discoveries elucidating mechanisms of alcohol-associated
carcinogenesis. M. Salaspuro (Finland) discussed the role of
acetaldehyde in the saliva and in the large intestine with respect to its role in the pathogenesis of alcohol-associated
cancer, and H. K. Seitz (Germany) presented new data identifying individuals homozygous for the ADH1C&1 allele as high on risk for alcohol-associated upper aerodigestive tract
cancer. M. Savolainen (Finland) discussed the role
phosphatidylethanol as a bioactive
lipid that can mediate beneficial and harmful effects of alcohol drinking. In the second part of the symposium,
alcoholic liver disease was discussed. P. Haber (Australia) presented new data on hepatic transcriptome in
alcoholic liver disease with the identification of new genes possibly involved in alcohol-initiated fibrogenesis of the liver, and H. Moshage (The Netherlands) described survival mechanisms of the cholestatic hepatocytes with implications for
therapy in cholestatic
liver disease. The role of the hepatic
microsomal ethanol oxidizing system in the metabolism of alcohol in
alcoholic liver disease was summarized by R. Teschke (Germany). H. Ishii (Japan) discussed the current status and treatment of
alcoholic hepatitis in Japan. Finally, in a state-of-the-art lecture, Charles S. Lieber (USA) discussed the development of the understanding of the pathophysiology of
alcoholic liver disease in the last 50 years. He emphasized the role of pathophysiology as an important prerequisite for better treatment strategies.