Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in childhood

In recent years the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become one of the most common liver disease in children and adolescents. This phenomenon is explained by the sharp rise in obesity among the population worldwide, including children, and increased co-morbidities associated with obesity. There is sufficient evidence that age and gender are important determinants of the risk for the development of fatty liver disease in children. There is reason to believe that an important role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD in children may play a hormonal profile in adolescents, family history, the state of insulin sensitivity and the level of adipocytokines. However, these studies are still limited to a small number of observations. Liver biopsy remains the standard for the diagnosis and staging of NAFLD. At the same time, children in some cases observed morphological pattern, which is not typical for adults. There is a need for the development of alternative non-invasive methods of diagnosis of NAFLD and imaging of hepatic steatosis . Clinically, the disease occurs in children is diverse and can be malignant, but the natural history and prognosis are still to be determined. Also the necessary lifestyle changes in NAFLD in children are not determined reliably, and a multi-center randomized clinical trials on the drug therapy are not compleated.