A LIVER disorder that affects around one in four people in developed
countries may be caused by alcohol from an internal 鈥渄istillery鈥�.
The causes of fatty liver disorder aren鈥檛 clear鈥攂ut alcoholics鈥� livers
have identical symptoms. Anna Mae Diehl of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore
thinks food stays in the intestines of obese people for longer. This could allow
normally harmless bacteria to ferment the food and produce alcohol, which causes
fat deposits in the liver.
Alcohol breath tests of obese and lean mice support her idea (
Gastroenterology, vol 119, p 1340). 鈥淭reatment could be easy using yoghurt
or oral antibiotics,鈥� she says.
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