Biochemical markers of bone metabolism in infants and children under intravenous corticosteroid therapy.

The short-term effects of corticosteroids (CS) administered intravenously (IV) on biochemical parameters of bone metabolism were followed in infants and children. Forty-nine patients from 2 months to 10 years of age, admitted to Pediatrics Department for bronchiolitis, viral-associated wheezing and croup, were treated with IV hydrocortisone or methylprednisolone (10 or 2 mg/Kg/day, respectively) for 3 days. Blood and fasting urine were collected on admission (day 1), 2 days later (day 3) and 12 days after the end of therapy (day 15).

Effects of intranasal salmon calcitonin in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: an observational study.

The aim of this study was to follow the changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and biochemical markers of bone turnover in 10 children (7.5-17.5 years of age) with severe juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), during a 3-year therapy with salmon calcitonin (100 IU/day 2 months on and 2 off for a year and 200 IU/day for 2 years) and calcium (500 mg/day).

Interferon-alpha treatment of children with chronic hepatitis D virus infection: the Greek experience.

Background/aims: The therapeutic experience of interferon-alpha therapy against hepatitis D virus infection in affected children is rather limited. For this reason, we conducted a retrospective study (duration: 1991-1995) in order to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of interferon-alpha in children suffering from chronic hepatitis D in Northwestern Greece.

Methodology: Seven children who were found to be infected with HDV in a total of 324 children seropositive for hepatitis B virus infection during the 5-year period of the study were treated with interferon-alpha, 3 x 10(6) U/m2 body surface area, intramuscularly or subcutaneously, 3 times weekly for 1 year (after an informed consent obtained from their parents).

Vitamin D metabolites (25-hydroxyvitamin D, 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D) and osteocalcin in beta-thalassaemia.

Serum levels of the vitamin D metabolites 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and of osteocalcin, C-terminal parathyroid hormone and other biochemical indices related to bone metabolism, were determined in two groups of patients with beta-thalassaemia aged 5-10 years (summer 7.8 +/- 0.4 years, mean +/- SEM, and winter 7.

Treatment of complicated pulmonary echinococcosis with albendazole in childhood.

The case of an 11-year-old boy suffering from pulmonary hydatid disease with rupture and bacterial superinfection is presented. After 3 courses of chemotherapy with albendazole the boy recovered fully, uneventfully and without relapse. Conservative management should always be considered before surgical intervention in children with echinococcosis, even when complications have occurred.

Giant hemangioma in infant. A case presentation and literature review.

Giant hemangioma of infancy is a rare and extensive variant of the hemangiomas, that occurs in newborns and infants and is often complicated by life-threatening events. We describe herein an unusual case of a giant hemangioma in a female infant. At the age of 45 days she was admitted to the hospital because of increasing respiratory distress and distented abdomen.

Childhood brucellosis in north-western Greece: a retrospective analysis.

Unlabelled: Fifty-two cases of childhood brucellosis which occurred in north-western Greece during the 15-year period 1979-1993, are reviewed. It is believed that they represent very closely the total incidence of the disease in the region which has a population of 100,000 children aged 0-14 years old. Brucellosis-affected children were almost exclusively from goat- or shepherd families and of both sexes and all age groups.

Bone minerals in beta-thalassemia minor.

Homozygous beta-thalassemia is a severe hereditary disorder associated with osteopenia. Recently it was suggested that thalassemia minor may be a risk factor for osteoporosis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate this suggestion.

Clinical significance of creatine kinase isoenzymes for fetal asphyxia in women at labor.

Creatine kinase-brain isoenzyme activity (CK-BB) was measured longitudinally in the serum of 31 pregnant women in the first stage of labor (early and advanced), at delivery, and 1, 6 and 24 h after delivery, in the umbilical cord and in the serum of their neonates on the first day of life. There was no increase in serum CK-BB values of mothers that delivered normally (n = 15) or had an elective cesarean section (n = 5). Pregnant women with signs of fetal distress had an increase in CK-BB levels in the first stage of labor (mean +/- SD 4.

Changes of mineral metabolism in juvenile chronic arthritis.

Thirty five children with ambulant JCA were studied to assess the biochemical parameters of bone metabolism. The mean age of the study group was 8.8 +/- 4.

Cortisol secretion in stressed babies during the neonatal period.

The present study investigates the developmental pattern of serum cortisol secretion in sick fullterm and preterm neonates in comparison to that of normal babies over the first 30 days of life. Four groups of babies (15 in each group) were studied sequentially during the first 4 weeks of life. Serial venous blood samples were drawn at 08.

Flow rate and chemistry of parotid saliva related to dental caries and gingivitis in patients with thalassaemia major.

Twenty-one child patients with thalassaemic major (TM) and 83 healthy control children were examined for dental caries and gingivitis. Stimulated parotid gland secretions were collected from each child. Parotid saliva flow rate was measured and the saliva samples were tested for calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, urea, lysozyme and immunoglobulin levels (IgA, IgG, IgM).

Red cell phosphate metabolism in preterm infants with idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome.

Phosphate metabolism was studied in twenty-one preterm infants with idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome during and after oxygen (O2) therapy using a hood. Plasma, red cell inorganic phosphate (Pi) and the red cell concentrations of organic phosphate metabolites ATP and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate were significantly lower in the sick infants when compared to controls of similar age and birthweight, and remained low even 24 h after cessation of therapy. Plasma cortisol levels were elevated at the onset of the disease and decreased to almost control levels by the end of O2 therapy while the values of plasma calcitonin did not show any difference from controls.

Cellular phosphate in renal tubular acidosis.

In two infants with distal renal tubular acidosis phosphate depletion was observed in the extracellular and intracellular compartments of the erythrocytes. Treatment corrected this disturbance over a period of several months. Cell phosphate deficiency may contribute to the adverse effects of renal tubular acidosis on bone.

Red cell phosphate metabolism in full-term neonates.

The effects of hypoxia and feeding on red cell inorganic phosphate (Pi) concentrations were studied in neonates. Although hypoxia caused a rise in extracellular Pi, the intracellular concentration of this ion did not change in comparison to control infants of the same age (first 24 h). As a result of these changes, the distribution of phosphate ions across the erythrocyte membrane was significantly lower in the hypoxic infants than in the controls.