Detection of dentine lead level and its correlation with blood lead and child intelligence

Environmental pollution from lead has long been recognized to cause adverse effects in children. In the present study, personal lead exposure was assessed in teeth and blood and the correlation between their levels and child intelligence and school performance was detected. A cross sectional study which included primary school children attending the dental clinic of insurance hospital at Banha in a period of six months was carried out. The parents were given a questionnaire about family background and child health and performance. Each child supplied a shed tooth and a blood sample and answered an IQ scoring and schools achievement leveling sheets. Lead levels were determined in teeth and blood. 100 children completed all the steps. Their mean [ +/- S.D.] dentine lead was 2.678 [ +/- 1.421] ug/g and that of blood lead was 6.255 [ +/- 2.830] ug/dl. Dentine lead was significantly related to blood lead. Demographic factors that were associated with higher lead values included residence in urban areas, smoking parents and manually working fathers. IQ scores and school achievement results showed significant negative correlations with teeth and blood lead levels. Measuring dentine lead level in shedding deciduous teeth of children is an available noninvasive method that can be used in detection of lead levels

Plasma antioxidant status in preterm infants in health and disease and its relation to vitamin C concentration at birth

Concentrations of circulating antioxidants may be important in the etiology of disease in preterm infants. We aimed at measuring vitamin C. ceruloplasmin and ability of plasma to prevent lipid peroxidation at birth and observing the variation of these measures with gestational age. We also examined the relation between plasma antioxidant activity in diseased preterm infants and their mortality. 30 diseased preterm infants requiring intensive care, 20 healthy preterm and 15 healthy full term infants were enrolled in the study. The antioxidant activity of plasma [ul plasma required to inhibit lipid peroxidation], plasma vitamin C and ceruloplasmin were measured. Diseased preterm infants showed significantly higher vitamin C, and significantly lower ceruloplasmin and antioxidant activity of plasma than healthy preterm and full term infants. In the preterm infants, there was a strong negative correlation between plasma antioxidant activity and vitamin C. Diseased preterm infants who died showed significanrly lower plasma antioxidant activity than those who survived

Prodromal symptoms of bronchial asthma in Egyptian children

One hundred and seventy children with bronchial asthma presenting to the out-patient allergy clinics of Pediatrics Cairo University and Benha Faculty of Medicine Hospitals were investigated. In 104 patients the over attack of asthma was preceded by a variety of symptoms. Some of these prodromal symptoms were related to the respiratory system as cough, sneezing and rhinorrhea and others were not as loss of appetite, pallor, fever, behavioural changes [e.g. irritability apathy and anxiety], sleep disorder, dark circles around the eyes, itching and abdominal pain. The interval between the occurrence of prodromal symptoms and the attack of asthma ranged from 6 to 48 hours. Each child has his own one or more prodromal symptom. The awareness of these prodromal features may enable an early introduction of treatment of asthma, thus avoiding or abbreviating some of the acute attacks of asthma

Some health aspects in instituted primary school children

This study was conducted on 193 children aged 6-12 years. They were 93 children [65 boys and 28 girls] living in two residential institutions in Cairo and 100 non-instituted children [65 boys and 35 girls] who are their matched school peers. Anthropometric measurements complete physical examination and laboratory investigations including haemoglobin concentration, complete urine and stool analysis were performed to all children. Results showed that 25.81% of instituted children have body weights below the 10[th] percentile and 60.22% have heights below the 10[th] percentile compared to 14% and 37% of non-instituted children respectively. The differences were statistically significant. The prevalence of vitamin deficiency manifestations, and skin diseases was significantly higher in the instituted group. The mean haemoglobin concentration was lower in the instituted children, with a significant difference in all males and in females aged 9-12 years. Intestinal parasitic infections were more prevalent in the instituted children. It was found that among instituted children weight and height were most affected by cause of institution and number of children cared for by a substitute mother while hemoglobin concentration was most affected by age at institution and the level of education of the substitute mother