Are constitutional factors and/or HLA phenotypes in males predisposing factors for alcoholic cirrhosis

Abstract

The different sensitivity of the male and the female liver is well established, but in addition there are more apparent differences in the male liver. One possible explanation for these differences might be the existence of genetic peculiarities among patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. In the early 20th century, Chvostek, in Vienna, was the first to draw attention to a constitutional element which he believed to be fundamental: absent body hair, absent or extremely sparse hair on the limbs, and pubic hair of the female type i.e. with a horizontal upper border1. He placed special emphasis on the fact that these anomalies were of genetic origin and were not a secondary phenomenon due to alcoholism or cirrhosis. The feminine pattern of hair distribution, the so-called ’Chvostek’s habitus’, is a frequently seen condition, but the statistical proof of its association with alcoholic cirrhosis in man is still missing.