[Therapy of alcoholic hepatitis].

The basic therapeutic principle in alcoholic liver diseases in general and in alcoholic hepatitis in particular is the consequent withdrawal of alcohol intake. Basic therapy of more complicated causes includes well balanced nutrition and symptomatic treatment according to the known principles of hepatology and intensive care medicine. Infusions with glucose-glucagon-insulin, or the administration of silymarin, and in individual cases of glucocorticoids seems to be justified as additional treatment. The therapy with S-adenosyl-L-methionine is promising, but clear evidence of the therapeutic effect has to be supplied by clinical studies. Liver transplantation should be taken into consideration in prognostically infaust cases.