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AIM: To assess the prevalence of caries, oral hygiene quality and periodontal disease in a cohort of obese adolescents compared to a control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study Design: cross-sectional study conducted on 204 subjects (age range 10-16 years). Ninety obese subjects (BMI >90) and 114 normal-weight subjects (BMI

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a promising strategy in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The clinical effects of this practice are still largely unknown and unpredictable. In this study, two children affected by mild and moderate ulcerative colitis (UC), were pre- and post-FMT monitored for clinical conditions and gut bacterial ecology. Microbiota profiling relied on receipts’ time-point profiles, donors and control cohorts’ baseline descriptions. After FMT, the improvement of clinical conditions was recorded for both patients. After 12 months, the mild UC patient was in clinical remission, while the moderate UC patient, after 12 weeks, had a clinical worsening. Ecological analyses highlighted an increase in microbiota richness and phylogenetic distance after FMT. This increase was mainly due to Collinsella aerofaciens and Eubacterium biforme, inherited by respective donors. Moreover, a decrease of Proteus and Blautia producta, and the increment of Parabacteroides, Mogibacteriaceae, Bacteroides eggerthi, Bacteroides plebeius, Ruminococcus bromii, and BBacteroidesovatus were associated with remission of the patient’s condition. FMT results in a long-term response in mild UC, while in the moderate form there is probably need for multiple FMT administrations. FMT leads to a decrease in potential pathogens and an increase in microorganisms correlated to remission status.

Paralleling the growing prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is emerging as the most frequent hepatopathy in adults and children. The true prevalence of pediatric NAFLD is still unknown, because of the heterogeneity of diagnostic methods used for diagnosis in the available studies and the different characteristics of the populations evaluated. Pediatric NAFLD is typically of primary origin and it is strongly associated with several features of the metabolic syndrome. Age, gender and race/ethnicity are significant determinants of risk, and sex hormones, insulin sensitivity and adipocytokines are implicated in the pathogenesis of pediatric NAFLD. The natural history of NAFLD in children is still poorly understood, because of its complex nature and the scarcity of prospective studies, especially in pediatric populations. Both genetic and environmental factors seem to be implicated in the development and progression of the disease via multiple mechanisms that involve liver crosstalk with other organs and tissues, especially gut and adipose tissue. To evaluate and effectively treat pediatric NAFLD, the pathophysiology and natural history of the disease should be clarified and noninvasive methods for screening, diagnosis, and longitudinal assessment developed.Paralelno sa porastom prevalence gojaznosti i metaboličkog sindroma, nealkoholna masna bolest jetre (NMBJ) sve se više prepoznaje kao najčešća hepatopatija kod odraslih i dece. Tačna prevalenca pedijatrijske NMBJ još je nepoznata, usled heterogenosti dijagnostičkih metoda korišćenih za postavljanje dijagnoze u dostupnim studijama i različitih karakteristika ispitivanih populacija. Pedijatrijska NMBJ obično je primarno oboljenje i blisko je povezana s nekoliko odlika metaboličkog sindroma. Starost, pol i rasa/etnička pripadnost spadaju u značajne determinante rizika, dok u patogenezi pedijatrijske NMBJ učestvuju polni hormoni, osetljivost na insulin i adipocitokini. Prirodna istorija NMBJ kod dece još nije do kraja proučena, zbog njene složene prirode i nedostatka prospektivnih studija, naročito u pedijatrijskim populacijama. Po svoj prilici, u razvoju i progresiji ove bolesti učestvuju kako genetički tako i faktori sredine preko višestrukih mehanizama koji uključuju unakrsna dejstva između jetre i ostalih organa i tkiva, pre svega crevnog i adipoznog tkiva. Kako bi se procenila i efikasno lečila pedijatrijska NBMJ, trebalo bi razjasniti patofiziologiju i prirodnu istoriju ove bolesti i razviti neinvazivne metode za skrining, dijagnostikovanje i longitudinalne procene.

The liver-specific miR-122 was proposed as biomarker for NAFLD in adults. Here, we investigated the relationship between miR-122 levels, parameters of liver metabolism and NAFLD in pre-pubertal obese children.Parameters of liver metabolism (ALT, AST and GGT) of three European cohorts were included (German cohort [n = 71; age: 11.53 ± 1.29 years; BMI z-score: 2.96 ± 0.64], Italian cohort [n = 45; age: 9.60 ± 2.11 years; BMI z-score: 3.57 ± 1.16], Slovenian cohort [n = 31; age: 7.53 ± 1.47 years; BMI z-score: 3.66 ± 0.88]). MiR-122 levels and CK18 concentrations were measured in fasting blood samples. In the German and Italian cohort, the diagnosis of NAFLD and grading of NAFLD was assessed by ultrasound.NAFLD was diagnosed in n = 50 patients of the German cohort (29.6%) and in n = 29 patients (72.5%) of the Italian cohort. In all three cohorts, miR-122 was positively correlated with ALT and AST as well as with CK18 concentrations. MiR-122 levels were higher in children with NAFLD compared with healthy controls.MiR-122 levels in pre-pubertal obese children could be a potential biomarker for paediatric NAFLD.