Type 2 diabetes mellitus in pediatrics: a new challenge.
BACKGROUND
The increased prevalence of childhood obesity in the last few years has been accompanied by the increase in prevalence of type 2 diabetes in pediatrics. In this paper, we will review the risk factors and the pathogenic determinants leading to type 2 diabetes in youth.


METHODS
We searched on PubMed with the key words: obesity, type 2 diabetes, children, adolescents, youth, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, genes and selected those publications written in English that we judged to be relevant to the topic of the review.


RESULTS
Based on the data present in the literature, we reviewed the following three topics: 1) the role of ectopic fat deposition, in particular of fatty liver, in the pathogenesis of pediatric type 2 diabetes; 2) the progression to type 2 diabetes in pediatrics and how it differs from adults, and 3) current theraputic options.


CONCLUSIONS
Type 2 diabetes in youth is a complex disease, creating new challenges in treatment and prevention.
Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Michelle
M
Van Name
Nicola
N
Santoro
D000293:Adolescent; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D002648:Child; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D018450:Disease Progression; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000503:physiopathology; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000473:pathology; D008019:Life Style; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents