Cause of fatty liver condition determined

HEIDELBERG, Germany, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- German scientists say they have determined what conditions cause the body to deposit fat in the liver, possible leading to a fatty liver condition.

Scientists have known the body's own glucocorticoid hormones, such as cortisol, promote the development of fatty liver. Long-term cortisone therapies such as those used for asthma and other chronic inflammatory diseases also cause the triglyceride level in the liver to rise to dangerous levels.

Now Assistant Professor Stephan Herzig at the German Cancer Research Center and his team have discovered the mechanism by which the body's own glucocorticoid hormones contribute to the disruption of the lipid metabolism.

"We have discovered a key mechanism here that plays a crucial role in many pathologic metabolic disorders," said Herzig. "It has been obvious for some time that there is an association between the body's own cortisol or therapeutically administered cortisone and the development of fatty liver. Now we also know what the interconnections look like at a molecular level."

The research is detailed in the journal Cell Metabolism.