title: Magnetic resonance imaging reveals altered distribution of hepatic fat in children with type 1 diabetes compared to controls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Children with type 1 diabetes have been identified as a risk group for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim was to compare total hepatic fat fraction and fat distribution across Couinaud segments in children with type 1 diabetes and controls and the relation of hepatic fat to plasma and anthropometric parameters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hepatic fat fraction and fat distribution across Couinaud segments were measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 22 children with type 1 diabetes and 32 controls. Blood tests and anthropometric data were collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No children had NAFLD. Children with type 1 diabetes had a slightly lower hepatic fat fraction (median 1.3%) than controls (median 1.8%), and their fat had a different segmental distribution. The fat fraction of segment V was the most representative of the liver as a whole. An incidental finding was that diabetes patients treated with multiple daily injections of insulin (MDI) had a fat distribution more similar to controls than patients with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In children with type 1 diabetes, NAFLD may be less common than recent studies have suggested. Children with type 1 diabetes may have a lower fat fraction and a different fat distribution in the liver than controls. Diabetes treatment with MDI or CSII may affect liver fat, but this needs to be confirmed in a larger sample of patients. The heterogeneity of hepatic fat infiltration may affect results when liver biopsy is used for diagnosing fatty liver.
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Celiac Disease Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University/Clinical Research Centre and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden. Electronic address: simon.regnell@med.lu.se.
authors.forename: Simon E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Regnell
authors.affiliation: Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pernilla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.affiliation: Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trinh
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Pathology, Clinical Sciences, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Broberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leander
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Celiac Disease Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University/Clinical Research Centre and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Åke
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Lernmark
authors.affiliation: Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Månsson
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Celiac Disease Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University/Clinical Research Centre and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Elding Larsson
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin
keywords: Diabetes complications; Fat fraction; Magnetic resonance imaging; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Type 1 diabetes