The team conducted trials in a mice model and found that fungi flourished in the intestines of the mice with chronic alcohol exposure. Chronic inflammation kills liver cells and ultimately paves way for alcoholic liver disease. However, researchers were able to protect mice from alcohol-induced liver disease by treating them with the anti-fungal compound amphotericin B. The mice received a type of oral amphotericin B that is not absorbed into the bloodstream, but oral amphotericin B is not FDA-approved for human use. Intravenous amphotericin B is FDA approved for the treatment of serious fungal infections and it can cause side effects such as stomach, bone, muscle or joint pain and shortness of breath.In comparison to untreated mice, mice with alcohol-related liver disease that received amphotericin B had lower levels of liver injury and fat accumulation. These results were determined by measuring plasma levels of a liver enzyme called alanine aminotransferase (reduced by approximately 55 percent) and levels of liver triglycerides (reduced by approximately 21 percent).
Since the results were so positive in mice, these researchers would now like to test amphotericin B in patients with alcohol-related liver disease to strengthen their evidence. Alcohol-related liver disease can be of many types like fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis or liver cirrhosis. In most cases, these diseases damage or destroy the liver cells. Your liver works to breakdown the chemical components in alcohol so that they can be removed from your body. However, it can be damaged and overburdened if you drink more alcohol than what it can process. Therefore, its very important to limit your alcohol intake and not go overboard.