Diagnostic and prognostic significance of serum and urinary enzymes in nephropathies among Egyptian children.

Study of serum and urinary enzyme pattern in nephropathies revealed that before treatment, cases of both acute nephritis and nephrotic syndrome were found to have an increased activity of the three enzymes studied in both serum and urine (Alkaline and acid phosphatases and Lactic dehydrogenase). However, there was no constant correlation between the level of serum and urinary enzyme activities. Distorted pattern of the enzymes has a more protracted course in nephrotics. After treatment, serum and urinary enzymes tended to normalise in cases of acute glomerulonephritis. However, urinary alkaline phosphatase remained high nephrotics after clinical remission. In some cases of acute nephritis, a persistently high level of serum enzyme may indicate an incipient nephrotic element. Nephrotics not responding to the four weeks course of corticosteroid therapy have persistently high serum and urinary enzyme activities. Thus, estimation of serum and urinary enzyme pattern in nephropathies may be of diagnostic and prognostic value.

Assessment of parameters of physical growth of the newborn in relation to maternal supplementation with iron alone or with some biological additives.

Intrauterine growth charts were used for the assessment of physical growth of newborn infants in relation to maternal supplementation. Iron alone or with other additives (Copper, folic acid, ascorbic acid) were given during different trimesters of pregnancy. The study revealed that iron supplementation with or without other additives has an effective role in improving the haematological pattern in the neonates who also achieved better physical growth particularly with early supplementation with iron and ascorbic acid. Therefore, such supplementation is recommended.

Dual significance of hepatic cholinesterase as an index of liver involvement and state of protein-calorie malnutrition.

159 cases of different forms of PCM (K.W.O., marasmic K.W.O., marasmus & nutritional oedema together with 20 cases normal healthy controls were selected. Serum, red blood cells and liver cholinesterases were estimated together with serum total protein and serum albumin. Pathological liver examination was done for every case, some cases from each group were followed-up till clinical recovery and the same investigations were done to them. The results indicate that the serum and hepatic pseudo-cholinesterase activity parallels directly the serum albumin (not the total proteins) as well as the pathological changes in the liver. The diminution in enzymatic activities and serum proteins coincides with the severity of the liver affection in the various forms of PCM. Insignificant change in true cholinesterase was demonstrated in all cases studied. Follow-up studies in a number of cases till clinical recovery revealed the return to normal of enzymatic activity and serum albumin is concomitant with restoration of normal pathological liver finding. The significance of changes in serum and liver cholinesterase activities as indices of the extent of liver involvement as well as their diagnostic and prognostic values was discussed.