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Research links fatty liver disease to type 2 diabetes
Insulin resistance in the liver is a major factor in the development of type 2 diabetes, and it is almost always associated with too much fat in the liver — a condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The question of whether there’s a causal link between NAFLD and type 2 diabetes has been unclear. In recent studies, Yale professor of medicine and investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Gerald Shulman has identified factors that cause the normal function of insulin in the liver to go awry in NAFLD. A new study pinpoints the final link between NAFLD and the changes in insulin and blood sugar that give rise to type 2 diabetes.