Insulin resistance alters hepatic ethanol metabolism: studies in mice and children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

2015

Objective Increased fasting blood ethanol levels, suggested to stem from an increased endogenous ethanol synthesis in the GI tract, are discussed to be critical in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of the present study was to further delineate the mechanisms involved in the elevated blood ethanol levels found in patients with NAFLD. Design In 20 nutritionally and metabolically screened children displaying early signs of NAFLD and 29 controls (aged 5–8 years), ethanol plasma levels were assessed. Ethanol levels along the GI tract, in vena cava and portal vein, intestinal and faecal microbiota, and activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and cytochrome P450…