Review
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World J Gastroenterol. Oct 28, 2013; 19(40): 6735-6743
Published online Oct 28, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i40.6735
Pathogenesis of hepatic steatosis: The link between hypercortisolism and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Giovanni Tarantino, Carmine Finelli
Giovanni Tarantino, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University Medical School of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy
Giovanni Tarantino, INT “Fondazione Pascale”, Cancer Research Center of Mercogliano, 83013 Mercogliano (AV), Italy
Carmine Finelli, Center of Obesity and Eating Disorder, Stella Maris Mediterraneum Foundation, Contrada Santa Lucia 80035, Chiaromonte, Potenza, Italy
Author contributions: Tarantino G conceived the research, contributed to write the paper and critically revised the manuscript; Finelli C drafted the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Giovanni Tarantino, MD, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University Medical School of Naples, Via Sergio Pansini, 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. tarantin@unina.it
Telephone: +39-81-7462024 Fax: +39-81-5466152
Received: May 28, 2013
Revised: September 10, 2013
Accepted: September 16, 2013
Published online: October 28, 2013
Processing time: 168 Days and 15.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: This overview of the literature is related to hepatic steatosis, its prevalence, clinical consequences and, in particular, the pathogenesis of this disorder. The authors focus on the link between hypercortisolism and obesity/metabolic syndrome. The main question of the work relates to the low prevalence of hepatic steatosis (only 20%) described in 50 newly diagnosed patients with Cushing’s syndrome based on appropriate computed tomography scans available for retrospective analysis. The authors try to explain this finding by the anti-inflammatory effect of high circulating levels of glucocorticoids.