Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY): a new challenge for pediatric diabetologists.

The differential diagnosis of hyperglycemia in childhood and adolescence has to take into consideration early-onset non-insulin-dependent diabetes, defined as maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY). To date, mutations in genes of five proteins have been shown to cause MODY: glucokinase (MODY2), hepatic nuclear factor-1 alpha (HNF-1 alpha) (MODY3), hepatic nuclear factor-4 alpha (HNF-4 alpha) (MODY1), insulin promoter factor 1 (IPF-1) (MODY4) and hepatic nuclear factor-1 beta (HNF-1 beta) (MODY5), but other MODY genes still await elucidation. Clinical and metabolic heterogeneity of these subtypes of type 2 diabetes need to be defined, as deficiency of each factor has its own phenotype. Pediatric diabetologists should be aware of the increasing importance of MODY as a possible cause of hyperglycemia in children and adolescents. This will allow for the early diagnosis of these metabolic conditions and for the appropriate follow-up and treatment.