Endothelial dysfunction as a threat of the hepatic steatosis development in children

Abstract

Endothelial dysfunction as a threat of the hepatic steatosis development in children N.N. Varlamova, I.V. Solodkova, E.V. Sinelnikova, V.G. Chasnyk St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation This article discusses the mechanisms of formation of endothelial dysfunction in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children. Endothelial dysfunction is associated with the development of insulin resistance (IR), which plays a leading role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. The article describes the relationship of endothelial dysfunction (ED) with birth weight and clinical consequences in the future. Aim: to study endothelial function in children with NAFLD and assess the risk of developing severe forms of hepatic steatosis. Patients and Methods: 140 adolescents with NAFLD were examined in the Department of Endocrinology of the St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University Clinic. Patients were divided into 3 groups depending on birth weight: group I — 42 patients with low weight, group II — 50 patients with overweight, and group III — 48 people with normal birth weight. All patients underwent an ultrasound of liver. The study of ED was performed by a non-invasive method for testing the brachial artery (BA) reactivity using the GE Logiq S8 ultrasound scanner by measuring the endothelium-dependent flow-mediated vasodilation in the BA. Biochemical parameters of blood were also taken into account. Results: the initial diameters of BA in two groups did not have significant deviations from normal values. In patients of group I at the age of 8–11 years, a more pronounced violation of vasodilation was detected in comparison with the parameters of children of the same age in groups II (4.5±3.1 vs. 10.5±2.5, p Conclusion: prognosis of the NAFLD development for the assessment of ED, and hence, an implementation of preventive measures is possible with the use of ultrasound diagnostics in risk group children for this nosology. Key words: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatic steatosis, endothelial dysfunction, intrauterine growth retardation. For citation: Varlamova N.N., Solodkova I.V., Sinelnikova E.V., Chasnyk V.G. Endothelial dysfunction as a threat of the hepatic steatosis development in children. Russian Journal of Woman and Child Health. 2018;1(2):137–140.