The modification in measles vaccination age as a consequence of the earlier decline of transplacentally transferred antimeasles antibodies in Turkish infants.

The maternal antibodies are gradually decreased at 9 to 12 months in infants. We determined the elimination period of maternal measles antibodies in 34 infants whose mothers had had a history of natural measles previously. Seropositivity rates at sixth and nine months of age were found to be 61.8% and 3.4%, respectively. The very low passive antibody at nine months of age may suggest the measles vaccination could be carried out earlier than just before the critical age of antibody level.

Thyroid functions in mild and severe forms of sickle cell anemia.

In the present study, the weight, height, bone age and growth indices of 24 children with homozygote sickle cell anemia were measured and the relationship of these parameters to thyroid function was evaluated and compared with 14 healthy controls in the same age group. The patients consisted of two groups with either mild (n = 12) or severe (n = 12) clinical courses. There was no difference between both patient groups or with the control group with respect to weight (P > 0.05). However, the difference between the mean height percentiles of the homozygote-severe group and the control group was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05). The bone age remained 41.6% behind normal for age in all homozygote sickle cell anemia patients. The serum T3 and T4 levels of all patients showed no significant differences from those of the control group (P > 0.05). These results show that patients with severe clinical courses may have short stature but their thyroid hormones are within normal limits during the first decade of life.

Measles antibody response in vaccinated children.

The incidence of measles has declined in our country since the routine administration of measles vaccination was initiated. However, measles outbreaks have been observed even among previously vaccinated children. The objective of this study was to evaluated the measles antibody response of children vaccinated at nine months of age. Measles-specific IgG antibodies were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Of 345 children tested, 20.3 percent were immunologically measles-susceptible. When measles-specific antibody titers were analyzed with respect to the elapsed time since prior vaccination, the result was found to be insignificant (p > 0.05). These data suggest that the underestimated seropositivity rate of measles antibody may be related to both primary vaccine failure and inappropriate vaccination age.

Phocomelia, ectrodactyly, skull defect and urinary system anomaly: Schinzel-phocomelia syndrome?

This report describes a girl with phocomelia of the right upper limb, ectrodactyly, sacral hypoplasia and a large skull defect, but with normal growth and mental development. Ultrasonography and intravenous pyelography showed bilateral hydronephrosis and dilated ureters. We conclude that this patient may represent Schinzel-phocomelia syndrome with additional urinary tract anomalies.

Do parental smoking and history of allergy influence cord-serum IgE?

The associations between parental smoking habits during pregnancy, family history of allergy, and IgE levels in cord-serum IgE (cIgE) were investigated prospectively in 1251 infants. Mean cIgE levels were similar in infants with positive and negative family history of allergy (0.50 and 0.54 kU/l, respectively). In infants with a positive family history of allergy whose mothers smoked more than 10 cigarettes a day, however, the mean cIgE level was significantly higher (0.78 kU/l) than that in infants of nonsmoking mothers (p = 0.011). Similarly, the mean cIgE level was significantly higher in boys (0.61 kU/l) than in girls (0.51 kU/l) of nonsmoking parents (p = 0.03). However, in infants of smoking parents, there was no significant difference in the mean cIgE level between boys and girls. A total of 178 (14%) mothers and 477 (38%) fathers were current smokers, and in 128 (10%) cases, both parents were active smokers. The mean cIgE level tended to be slightly higher in infants of smoking mothers, especially when the mother consumed more than 10 cigarettes a day (0.63 vs 0.54 kU/l) (p > 0.05). Thus, cIgE levels were higher only in genetically prone babies whose mothers consumed more than 10 cigarettes a day.

Lead poisoning from contaminated flour in a family of 11 members.

Eleven members of a family living in southeastern Turkey are presented. They were diagnosed as suffering from 'lead poisoning' with typical clinical manifestations and high blood lead concentrations. Contaminated flour (665 micrograms Pb/g) was the cause of poisoning, by oral ingestion. The source of contamination was sought and it was found that the stone of the mill had been repaired with molten lead on the same day that the wheat of the family had been ground; while grinding the wheat some lead was mixed into the flour.