About this Research Topic
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), most recently also defined Metabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), is commonly encountered in children living in Western countries due to the widespread obesity. The molecular basis of NAFLD in obese children is increasingly known, and novel targeted therapies are available also for children and adolescents. The disease is often underestimated in children as it is considered benign, despite the risk of developing liver cirrhosis in adulthood. A small proportion of pediatric NAFLD cases are caused by a hidden metabolic disease, even in the presence of obesity as a contributing cause.
This Research Topic aims to describe the broader aspects - epidemiology, genetic basis, pathology, management, outcomes- of pediatric NAFLD in the Whole Exome Sequencing era, and the possible role of molecular analysis in improving the diagnostic path and the therapeutic options.
Clinical and experimental studies describing molecular analysis of NAFLD in children are welcome.
Keywords: therapy, liver steatosis, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, insulin resistance, genes, NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, children, inherited metabolic liver disease, metabolic syndrome, whole exome sequencing
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
