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Current pharmacotherapy for treating pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Claudia Della Corte1, Daniela Liccardo, Federica Ferrari

  • 1IRCCS, "Bambino Gesù" Children's Hospital, Hepato-Metabolic Disease Unit , Rome , Italy.

Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy
|September 16, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing concern in children. A combination of targeted drug therapies and lifestyle changes may offer the most effective treatment for pediatric NAFLD.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Hepatology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Metabolic Disorders

Background:

  • Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become highly prevalent in children.
  • Current lifestyle modification therapies for pediatric NAFLD are often ineffective due to poor adherence.
  • Lack of specific management guidelines poses a challenge for pediatric hepatologists.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current therapeutic strategies for pediatric NAFLD.
  • To examine ongoing clinical trials for novel pediatric NAFLD treatments.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of existing NAFLD treatments in children.
  • Overview of active clinical trials for new drug therapies in pediatric NAFLD.

Main Results:

  • Current treatments, primarily lifestyle changes, show limited long-term efficacy.
  • Several promising drug candidates are under investigation in clinical trials for pediatric NAFLD.

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric NAFLD is a complex condition with multifactorial causes.
  • A combination therapy, including pharmacologic agents targeting key pathogenetic factors alongside lifestyle modification, is proposed as the optimal treatment approach.
Abstract

Keywords:
childrennonalcoholic fatty liver diseasenonalcoholic steatohepatitisobesitytreatment

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