Alcoholism is a serious condition to which the human body is addicted to the substance alcohol. Alcohol can literally ruin a person's body. It kills brain cells, and it destroys livers and kidneys. To make matters worse, drinking too much alcohol can kill a person, if the person's alcohol level is at 4.0. A person can live without a kidney, but not without both. A person can get half of a liver transplanted because it grows, but a person has to be healthy enough to have the surgery. A person can't, however, live without those precious brain cells. They are what makes the body function. Alcoholism is mentioned several times in House, M.D., but it is never the overall diagnosis, because it isn't that much of a mystery.
Alcoholism is very serious, and if you are an alcoholic, help is available http://www.aa.org