Sobriety key in beating cirrhosis

A new study by researchers at the University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K., found that continued abstinence from alcohol was a major factor in surviving alcohol-related liver disease, even with relatively severe cirrhosis of the liver. Abstinence from alcohol at one month after diagnosis of cirrhosis was the more important factor determining survival, with a seven-year survival rate of 72 percent for the abstinent patients vs. 44 percent for the patients continuing to drink.