By Karla Gale

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The suspicion that sugary soft drinks are involved in the development of liver disease is strengthened by results of animal experiments reported at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) annual meeting in Boston.

Dr. Ina Bergheim, from the University of Hohenheim in Germany, and associates, tested the effect of sugar-sweetened water on the livers of mice. Some animals had free access to sugar water, while others were given a solution containing an artificial sweetener.

Animals fed the sugared drinks ate less food, but they had higher overall calorie intake and weight gain. Examination of the animals' livers showed that fatty liver disease was more common in the group given sugar water, especially when exposed to a type of sugar called fructose.

"These data support the hypothesis that high fructose consumption may not only (damage) the liver through over-feeding, but may be directly" toxic, Bergheim's group concludes in their meeting abstract.

Dr. Adrian Di Bisceglie, chair of the public policy committee for AASLD and professor of internal medicine at St. Louis University, noted that the epidemic of obesity has been partly to blame for the increasing prevalence of liver disease in the US.

He pointed out that consumption of high fructose corn syrup, in foods such as soft drinks, has sky-rocketed over the last decade. "This study suggests that liver disease is not just a consequence of obesity or fat consumption," but that sugar is also a culprit.