HAMP and steatosis: As both the lipid and the iron metabolism seem to be involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD [28,32], hepcidin seems to have a role in transition from steatosis to NASH [23] and lipid metabolism might be involved in hepcidin synthesis [28,32], in the present work we aimed to go one step further by exploring the relationship between plasma hepcidin levels, and the presence of NAFLD in morbidly obese patients, and also if any association between the hepatic expression of the main iron and lipid metabolism-related genes exists.