Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents the most common cause of chronic liver disease in childhood. To date, the “multiple-hit” hypothesis is largely recognized as an explanation of NAFLD pathogenesis and progression. Obesity and features of the metabolic syndrome have been closely linked to NAFLD development. Due to the increased prevalence of obesity worldwide, NAFLD has reached epidemic proportions over time. Given its unfavorable cardiometabolic burden (such as cardiovascular and metabolic consequences), it represents a worrying phenomenon needing a more comprehensive and successful management. Laboratory tests and classical imaging techniques play a pivotal role in NAFLD diagnosis, but novel noninvasive alternative methods to diagnose and monitor NAFLD have been investigated. Currently, lifestyle modifications remain the mainstay treatment, although its efficacy is poor because of the lack of compliance. Pediatric research is focusing on multiple alternative treatments targeting the main pathogenic factors such as insulin-resistance, dyslipidemia, gut-liver axis and microbiota, oxidative stress, and proinflammatory pathways. Results from these studies are promising but larger validation is needed. Innovative therapeutic approaches might add an important piece in the complex knowledge of pediatric NAFLD. We aimed to summarize recent insights into NAFLD diagnosis and treatment in children, with a focus on possible future perspectives in pediatric research.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) presents significant challenges in pediatric care, often remaining underrecognized. This paper provides an overview of pediatric AKI, highlighting its epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, predisposing conditions, and treatment. AKI in children stems from diverse causes, including renal tubular damage, vasoconstriction, and inflammation. Diagnosis relies on traditional markers such as serum creatinine and urine output, alongside emerging biomarkers such as Cystatin C, NGAL, KIM-1, IL-18, TIMP-2 and IGFBP7, urinary calprotectin, URBP4, L-FABP, and clusterin. Various pediatric conditions predispose to AKI, including type 1 diabetes, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, appendicitis, gastroenteritis, COVID-19, multisystem inflammatory syndrome, sickle cell disease, and malignancies. Treatment entails supportive care with fluid management and, in severe cases, renal replacement therapy. Timely recognition and management are essential to mitigating adverse outcomes. Enhanced awareness and integration of novel biomarkers could improve pediatric AKI care, warranting further research for better diagnosis and management.

Background: Recently, the new definition of Metabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has gained remarkable scientific interest. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of MAFLD definition in selecting obese children at higher cardiovascular risk. Methods: A total of 954 obese children and adolescents was retrospectively enrolled. Clinical, biochemical, and metabolic evaluations were performed. Hepatic steatosis was assessed by liver ultrasound. According to the metabolic status, the population was divided in three groups. Group 1 included obese patients without both non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic dysregulation; group 2 included patients with obesity and NAFLD (then encompassing one MAFLD criterion); group 3 included patients with obesity, NAFLD and evidence of metabolic dysregulation (then encompassing more than 1 MAFLD criteria). Results: Patients of Group 3 showed a worse cardiometabolic profile, as also proven by the higher percentage of prediabetes (defined as the presence of impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance) compared to other groups (p = 0.001). Conclusions: MAFLD criteria in obese children seem to be less accurate in identifying patients having an intrinsic higher cardiometabolic risk. This suggests the need for a more accurate definition in the context of pediatric obesity.

Renal diseases in childhood form a spectrum of different conditions with potential long-term consequences. Given that, a great effort has been made by researchers to identify candidate biomarkers that are able to influence diagnosis and prognosis, in particular by using omics techniques (e.g., metabolomics, lipidomics, genomics, and transcriptomics). Over the past decades, metabolomics has added a promising number of ‘new’ biomarkers to the ‘old’ group through better physiopathological knowledge, paving the way for insightful perspectives on the management of different renal diseases. We aimed to summarize the most recent omics evidence in the main renal pediatric diseases (including acute renal injury, kidney transplantation, chronic kidney disease, renal dysplasia, vesicoureteral reflux, and lithiasis) in this narrative review.

Primary non-refluxing megaureter (PMU) is a congenital dilation of the ureter which is not related to vesicoureteral reflux, duplicated collecting systems, ureterocele, ectopic ureter, or posterior urethral valves and accounts for 5 to 10% of all prenatal hydronephrosis (HN) cases. The etiology is a dysfunction or stenosis of the distal ureter. Most often PMU remains asymptomatic with spontaneous resolution allowing for non-operative management. Nevertheless, in selective cases such as the development of febrile urinary tract infections, worsening of the ureteral dilatation, or reduction in relative renal function, surgery should be considered.Conclusion: Ureteral replantation with excision of the dysfunctional ureteral segment and often ureteral tapering is the gold-standard procedure for PMU, although endoscopic treatment has been shown to have a fair success rate in many studies. In this review, we discuss the natural history, follow-up, and treatment of PMU. What is Known:• PMU is the result of an atonic or stenotic segment of the distal ureter, resulting in congenital dilation of the ureter, and is frequently diagnosed on routine antenatal ultrasound. What is New:• Most often, PMU remains asymptomatic and clinically stable, allowing for non-operative management.• Nevertheless, since symptoms can appear even after years of observation, long-term ultrasound follow-up is recommended, even up to young adulthood, if hydroureteronephrosis persists.• Ureteral replantation is the gold standard in case surgery is needed. In selected cases, however, HPBD could be a reasonable alternative.