The liver is one of the human body’s most impressive organs, able to regenerate itself even after it’s damaged or a bit of it is lopped off – but its abilities can only be pushed so far. Long term, excessive alcohol use can stop it from being able to heal itself even after someone stops drinking , and in a new study, researchers have now determined why, down to the molecular level. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

“We knew that the liver stops functioning and stops regenerating in patients with alcohol-related hepatitis and cirrhosis, even when a patient has discontinued consuming alcohol, but we didn’t know why,” said University of Illinois biochemistry professor Auinash Kalsotra in a statement .

“The only real lif

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