relationship between zinc deficiency and febrile convulsion in Isfahan, Iran

Febrile convulsion [FC] is a common cause of seizure in young children, with an excellent prognosis. In addition to genetic predisposition and infections, FCs are generally thought to be induced by metabolic and elemental changes during fever such as Zinc [Zn] deficiency. Regarding the high prevalence of febrile convulsions and the role of Zn deficiency, we investigated the role of Zn in FC patients in Isfahan, Iran. In a controlled cross sectional study, 90 patients aged 9 months to 5 years were studied in a period of 12 months. They were assigned to three groups. Thirty patients were included in the Febrile Seizure group, thirty febrile children without convulsion or previous history of convulsion were included in the febrile group and thirty afebrile healthy ones were enrolled as controls. Venous blood was obtained and Zn concentration in serum was measured using Graphite Furnance Atomic Absorbance Spectrophotometering [GF-AAS]. Patients and the control groups had no difference in either mean age or sex distribution. No significant relationship was observed between serum Zn level and age or sex among patients in the FC group and two other control groups. Our findings showed that Zinc level was significantly lower in the febrile seizure group compared to two other groups. We tried to categorize various conditions in a more practical form. Also, Zinc is in close relationship with socioeconomic level of the individuals which was well considered in the current survey

Comprehensive assessment of the relative frequency of sleep disorders in migraine and non migraine in 6- to 14-year-old children

Headaches are common during childhood. In addition, sleep disorders are common problems in children, too. Although it is commonly thought that headache and sleep problems are related, there is not enough evidence to confirm this relationship. Finding evident relations between these problems would help practitioners a lot to make earlier diagnosis and plan treatment modalities for both problems as soon as possible. This study aimed to assess the relative frequency of sleep disorders in migraine and non migraine children. In a cross sectional study, 148 children were enrolled in migraine [60] and non migraine [88] groups. They were aged 6 to 14 years. Migraine group consisted of patients who had definite migraine according to HIS [International Headache Society] criteria. Ten sleep problems [snoring, nightmares, sleep walking, sleep talking, bedtime struggle, bruxism, sweating during sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia in early or mid night and sleep apnea] were compared between 2 groups. Fisher exact and chi square tests were used for making comparisons. We found relationships between night sleep and daytime headaches. Some of these relationships were easy to explain but for some others, finding complicated explanations are necessary. Our findings showed that bruxism, sleep walking, early and midnight insomnia was significantly higher in migraine children. There was a common etiology for headache and sleep disorders. Also, parents and migraine children were well familiar with the effect of relaxation on decreasing migraine episodes. They provided appropriate facilities for night sleep for this reason. We found relationships between night sleep and daytime headaches. Some of these relationships were easy to explain but for some others, finding complicated explanations are necessary