Prevalence of school bullying and its relationship with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder: a cross-sectional study.

Background: School bullying is the most widespread form of violence among adolescents. It has been identified as a critical problem for students and has evolved into a public health issue and global crisis. The study aims to assess the prevalence of school bullying among primary school students and its relationship with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorders. Among the 280 primary school students those aged 10-12 years were recruited. All participants were assessed by parent interview, the Arabic version of the bullying behavior scale for children and adolescents and the Arabic version of the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale-28. Results: We found that the prevalence rate of bullying behavior was 12.5% among students. In bullying students' group, males were higher percentage (15.8%) than females (9%). Also, they had the highest mean scores regarding verbal bullying and social bullying, followed by psychological and physical bullying. Regarding Conners', the higher mean scores of conduct problem, passive-inattentive, and hyperactivity index were associated with bullying students in compared to students without bullying. Conclusions: The prevalence of school bullying among primary school students was 12.5%. Also, there was significant association between bullying students and having attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and/or conduct disorder.

Effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and Tomatis sound therapy in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Many therapeutic and dietary regimens have been studied for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the last three decades. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and Tomatis sound therapy (TST) in an Egyptian cohort of children with ASD. This study was a prospective, open label, randomized interventional clinical trial. One hundred forty-six children with ASD with no previous rehabilitation therapy were enrolled in our study. Patients were randomly divided into four groups: the first group received hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the second group received Tomatis sound therapy, the third group received a combination of both modalities, and the fourth group, the control group, received no intervention. We found that the combination of Tomatis sound therapy with hyperbaric oxygen therapy had a superior effect in improving autism symptoms than each intervention alone (CARS after therapy 35.04 ± 13.38 versus 49.34 ± 17.54 before the intervention, p < 0.001). The combination of both modalities may be helpful for children with ASD. The most distinctive evidence that supports the use of combination therapy for ASD is still controversial; however, our study provides some evidence of the benefit of combination therapy for children with ASD. Future studies should use a more sophisticated research design and begin by finding a consistent baseline measure that can be used to evaluate the effects of these therapies for ASD.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii among patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in Upper Egypt: a comparative study with a control group.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are serious neuropsychiatric disorders. Studies have found a high seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in psychiatric patients. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients. A case-control study was conducted in Assiut University Hospitals on 53 patients with schizophrenia, 57 patients with bipolar disorder, and 50 healthy volunteers. The psychiatric patients were recruited from the psychiatry department and the controls from their relatives. Both groups were subjected to socio-demographic assessment. Neither of them was immunodeficient nor with any other psychiatric disorders. Anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were detected by indirect-ELISA to find the relationship between T. gondii infection and psychiatric disorders. Data were analysed using Chi-square test. The seropositivity rate, among patients with schizophrenia (50.9%) and patients with bipolar disorders (52.6%), was significantly higher than control group (30%) (P = 0.031 and 0.018 respectively). We found no statistically significant difference among all groups regarding environmental risk factors associated with T. gondii infection, except cat contact which was higher in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients (P = 0.011 and 0.007 respectively). The results of our study confirm that T. gondii infection is significantly correlated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and significantly associated with cat contact rather than beef consumption.

Door-to-door survey of major neurological disorders (project) in Al Quseir City, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt.

A door-to-door survey, including every household, was conducted for all inhabitants of Al Quseir City (33,283), Red Sea Governorate, Egypt by three specialists of neurology as well as nine senior staff members of neurology and 15 female social workers to assess the epidemiology of major neurological disorders. Over six phases, from July 1, 2009 to January 31, 2012, screening of all eligible people in the population was carried out, by which case ascertainment of all major neurological disorders included in the study was done according to the accepted definitions and diagnostic criteria of the World Health Organization. The order of frequency of prevalence of the studied neurological disorders was dementia (3.83% for those aged > 60 years), migraine (2.8% for those aged > 8 years), stroke (6.2/1000 for those aged > 20 years), epilepsy (5.5/1000), Parkinson's disease (452.1/100,000 for those aged > 40 years), cerebral palsy (3.6/1000 among children < 18 years), spinal cord disorders (63/100,000) dystonia (39.11/100,000), cerebellar ataxia (30.01/100,000), trigeminal neuralgia (28/100,000 for those aged > 37 years), chorea (21.03/100,000), athetosis (15/100,000), and multiple sclerosis (13.74/100,000). The incidence rates of stroke, epilepsy, and Bell's palsy were 181/100,000, 48/100,000, and 98.9/100,000 per year, respectively.