[ relation between serum zinc level and febrile seizures in children admitted to Zanjan Valie-Asr Hospital]

Febrile seizures [FS] are the most common seizures seen in childhood with a prevalence of 2-14% in different societies. This study was carried out regarding the possibility of the relationship between serum zinc levels and occurrence of FS. 117 children ranging from 6 months to 5 years were divided into four groups: FS [n=39], febrile patients with no seizures [FNS] [n=40], control group of afebrile patients with no seizures [AFNS] [n=32], and patients with seizures without fever [n=6]. After completion of a questionnaire and obtaining blood, serum zinc levels were measured. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. The mean serum zinc levels in 39 FS patients was 75.67 mcg/dl, 40 febrile patients with no seizure had a mean serum zinc level of 87.58 mcg/dl. 32 afebrile patients with no seizure had a mean serum zinc level of 89.06 mcg/dl and in 6 afebrile patients with seizure; the mean serum zinc level was 96/67 mcg/dl. The serum zinc level in FS patients was significantly lower than the other groups [p=0.002 and p=0.001], whereas the 3 other groups had no significant difference [P= 0.971]. Regarding the high incidence of hypozincaemia in FS, low serum zinc levels may be associated with the occurrence of FS

[Maternal knowledge about nutritional status of 6 to 12 month old infants in the community oriented medical education of Zanjan university of medical sciences]

Children suffering from failure to thrive [FTT] may have significant impairments in physical growth as well as cognitional and developmental functions .After 6 months of age approximately one third of the energy needed for a child should be provided by supplemental nourishments. Studies have shown that poverty itself is not a factor of malnutrition alone and the role of the mother's knowledge in proper use of the family income and the use of the supplementary nutrition in appropriate time with proper food is significant. The aim of this study was to evaluate maternal knowledge about nutritional status of children and its related factors. This cross sectional study was conducted on three hundred mothers who had a child between 6 to 12 months, at the health care center of the community oriented medical education in Zanjan University of Medical Sciences .The mothers were interviewed about supplemental nutrition. Information about maternal age, education, number of children, and family income were also gathered. One hundred eighty one [60/3%] of mothers were between the ages 20-29years and 35/3% had only elementary education. Fifty five percent lived in rental houses and 47/5% had one child. 42/3% of them were found to have average knowledge. Eighty two percent knew the appropriate time to start supplemental nutrition but 92% did not know that the best time of supplemental nutrition was after breast feeding. According to this study, there was a significant relationship between maternal knowledge about supplemental nutrition and maternal age, education, and the number of children [P<0.0001]. However there was no significant relationship between mother's knowledge and family type of home ownership. It seems that up-grading maternal knowledge plays an important role in prevention of FTT

Serum level of anti-hepatitis B surface antigen 6-8 years after hepatitis B vaccination at birth

The duration of protection after hepatitis B vaccination in children is unknown. We determined the serum level of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen [anti-HBsAg] in 273 randomly selected 7-9-year-old schoolchildren from Zanjan City, Islamic Republic of Iran, who had been fully vaccinated against hepatitis B starting at birth. Titres

Sensorineural hearing loss in insulin-dependent diabetic patients

Among patients who have sensorineural hearing loss of unknown etiology, diabetes is one of the diseases to be routinely investigated. The relationship between diabetes mellitus and hearing loss is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [IDDM] compared to control group. In a cross-sectional study pure tone audiometry [PTA] and speech audiometry was performed in 62 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [IDDM], aged under 40 years, and in 62 randomly selected age-matched non-diabetic control subjects. Subjects with otological and other metabolic diseases were excluded from the study. We applied the SPSS.10 statistical analysis software Chi-square and student's test. Statistical analysis showed that the hearing of the diabetic patients were significantly worsen than the control subjects. The hearing level tended to be worsen in the diabetic patients than that in control subjects, but the differences were statistically significant only at frequencies of 250,500, 4000 and 8000 Hz [p > 0.05]. There wasn't statistical significant difference between sex in two study groups [p > 0.05]. The mean duration of diabetes was no statistically significant with hearing loss [p > 0.05]. The frequency of complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy in the diabetic groups had no correlation with speech threshold [p > 0.05]. There were no significant differences between speech reception threshold, speech discrimination score and acoustic reflex in two groups. We conclude that type I diabetes mellitus can cause sensorineural hearing loss