title: Pediatric liver diseases: current challenges and future perspectives.
abstract: Chronic liver diseases in children represent a rising problem with significant effects on public health. In fact, several pediatric liver diseases are precursors of adult chronic hepatopathies, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The prevalence of liver diseases in children is unknown. In the USA, every year, 15,000 children are hospitalized for liver diseases, but these disorders continue to be under-recognized or diagnosed late. The main reason is due to the frequent absence of symptoms in the vast majority of liver diseases, especially in the early stages. In the last few decades several advances have been made in understanding the pathogenesis of liver diseases, permitting the discovery of new therapeutic targets to treat liver diseases, thus improving the natural history of these disorders. In this article we discuss the most recent advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of the most frequent pediatric liver diseases.
authors.affiliation: a Hepato-Metabolic Department , Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Della Corte
authors.affiliation: b Center of Dietetics and Nutrition , Pediatric Clinic, 'La Sapienza' University , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mosca
authors.affiliation: b Center of Dietetics and Nutrition , Pediatric Clinic, 'La Sapienza' University , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vania
authors.affiliation: a Hepato-Metabolic Department , Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Arianna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alterio
authors.affiliation: c Liver Research Unit , Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alisi
authors.affiliation: a Hepato-Metabolic Department , Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nobili
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D010372:Pediatrics; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Children; Wilson disease; autoimmune hepatitis; chronic viral hepatitis; liver disease; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; treatment