Introduction: Management of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) poses numerous challenges, especially for young children and their families. Parental care positively influences the outcomes of children with T1D, while there are often criticisms in school environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced children and parents to spend many hours at home and diabetes care has returned mainly in the hands of parents. Aim of the study: To evaluate the effectiveness of exclusive return to parental care in preschool and school children with T1D treated with Tandem Basal IQ system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and methods: 22 children (M:F = 14:8) with T1D have been evaluated. We compared insulin and CGM data (TIR, TBR and TAR) of two periods: PRE-COV and IN-COV, in which children have transitioned from normal school attendance to the exclusive care of their parents.Results: During the IN-COV period a significantly (p < 0.001) higher median value of TIR (66,41%) was observed as compared to PRE-COV period (61,45%). Patients also showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.002) between the IN-COV period and the PRE-COV period as concerning the TAR metric: respectively 29,86 ± 10,6% vs 34,73 ± 12,8%. The difference between the bolus insulin doses was statistically significant (PRE-COV 5,3 IU/day, IN-COV 7,9 IU/day -p < 0.05). Conclusion:Our observational real-life study confirms the positive effect of parental care in T1D very young children and demonstrates that during the COVID-19 pandemic it was possible to obtain a good glycometabolic compensation despite the significant change in lifestyle.

In children with childhood-onset growth hormone deficiency, replacement GH therapy is effective in normalizing height during childhood and achieving adult height within the genetic target range. GH has further beneficial effects on body composition and metabolism through adult life. The transition phase, defined as the period from mid to late teens until 6–7 years after the achievement of final height, represents a crucial time for reassessing children’s GH secretion and deciding whether GH therapy should be continued throughout life. Evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of growth hormone deficient children during transition are lacking. The aim of this review is to critically review the up-to-date evidence on the best management of transition patients in order to ensure the correct definitive diagnosis and establish the appropriate therapeutic regimen.

Idiopathic short stature (ISS) comprises a wide range of conditions associated with short stature that elude the conventional diagnostic work-up and are often caused by still largely unknown genetic variants. In the last decade, the improvement of diagnostic techniques has led to the discovery of causal mutations in genes involved in the function of the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) axis as well as in growth plate physiology. However, many cases of ISS remain idiopathic. In the future, the more frequent identification of the underlying causes will allow a better stratification of subjects and offer a tailored management. GH therapy has been proposed and approved in some countries for the treatment of children with ISS. To improve the efficacy of GH therapy, trials with GH combined with GnRH agonists, aromatase inhibitors, and even IGF-I have been conducted. This review aims to revise the current definition of ISS and discuss the management of children with ISS on the basis of the most recent evidence.

MiR-122 levels in pre-pubertal obese children could be a potential biomarker for paediatric NAFLD.

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