Barchetta I, et al. - Researchers, for the first time, evaluated the connection between plasma copeptin and the presence/severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and steatohepatitis (NAFLD; NASH). For clinical purposes, in which intraoperative liver biopsies were performed for diagnosing NAFLD/NASH, 60 obese patients candidate to bariatric surgery were recruited. In addition, circulating copeptin levels were evaluated in 60 age- and sex-comparable non-obese people without NAFLD at liver ultrasonography. Investigators found that copeptin levels were significantly higher for obese patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD than for both obese people without NAFLD and non-obese subjects. According to this cross-sectional study, increased plasma copeptin may be independently linked to NAFLD and NASH's presence and severity, indicating a novel mechanism behind the human fatty liver disease that may be modifiable via pharmacological treatment and lifestyle intervention.