Alcohol use disorders and alcohol dependency affect millions of individuals worldwide. The impact of these facts lies in the elevated social and economic costs. Alcoholic liver disease is caused by acute and chronic exposure to ethanol which promotes oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Chronic consumption of ethanol implies liver steatosis, which is the first morphological change in the liver, followed by liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. This review comprises a broad approach of alcohol use disorders, and a more specific assessment of the pathophysiologic molecular basis, and genetics, as well as clinical presentation and current modalities of treatment for alcoholic liver disease.

Angiotensin II (AT-II) is a peptide that plays an important role in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAA) system. Traditionally, the RAA system has been related with states of systemic hypertension and hypoperfusion as a counterbalance mechanism. Recently, AT-II has been studied for its properties in the process of fibrosis in several organs, especially in the liver. AT-II is capable to stimulate the activated hepatic stellate cells, which increase expression of profibrogenic molecules like tumor growth factor-beta, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and collagen I, among others. At the same time, AT-II is implied in the hemodynamic balance of cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Due to its profibrogenic and vasoactive properties, blockade of AT-II actions constitutes an important therapeutic target to inhibit fibrotic processes and reduction of risk of complications of portal hypertension as well. Some drugs like angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or the angiotensin II receptor blockers have been studied as alternatives for the treatment of patients with cirrhosis with promising results. Nonetheless, additional research is required in order to consider these drugs as a part of the integral treatment of the patient with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

Population of patients with end-stage renal disease increases every day. There is a vast difference in the number of patients on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, and the number of donors and the gap increases every year. The use of more marginal organs can increase the donor pool. These organs include the kidneys with small renal cell carcinomas (RCTC). There has been a number of reports in the literature about the use of these grafts for renal transplant after tumor excision and reconstruction. These grafts have been reported to be used with good renal function outcomes without an increased risk for malignancy recurrences. We present the collection of evidence for the use of kidneys with RCC for transplantation, technique used for surgical resection, and reconstruction as well as insights on the recommendations for the use of these grafts.