Urine soluble TLR4 levels may contribute to predict urinary tract infection in children: the UTILISE Study.

BACKGROUND: One of the most common bacterial infections in childhood is urinary tract infection (UTI). Toll-like receptors (TLRs) contribute to immune response against UTI recognizing specific pathogenic agents. Our aim was to determine whether soluble TLR4 (sTLR4), soluble TLR5 (sTLR5) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) can be used as biomarkers to diagnose UTI. We also aimed to reveal the relationship between urine Heat Shock Protein 70 (uHSP70) and those biomarkers investigated in this study. METHODS: A total of 802 children from 37 centers participated in the study. The participants (n = 282) who did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded from the study. The remaining 520 children, including 191 patients with UTI, 178 patients with non-UTI infections, 50 children with contaminated urine samples, 26 participants with asymptomatic bacteriuria and 75 healthy controls were included in the study. Urine and serum levels of sTLR4, sTLR5 and IL-8 were measured at presentation in all patients and after antibiotic treatment in patients with UTI. RESULTS: Urine sTLR4 was higher in the UTI group than in the other groups. UTI may be predicted using 1.28 ng/mL as cut-off for urine sTLR4 with 68% sensitivity and 65% specificity (AUC = 0.682). In the UTI group, urine sTLR4 levels were significantly higher in pyelonephritis than in cystitis (p < 0.0001). Post-treatment urine sTLR4 levels in the UTI group were significantly lower than pre-treatment values (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Urine sTLR4 may be used as a useful biomarker in predicting UTI and subsequent pyelonephritis in children with UTI. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

Urinary HSP70 improves diagnostic accuracy for urinary tract infection in children: UTILISE study.

BACKGROUND: The accuracy of conventional urinalysis in diagnosing urinary tract infection (UTI) in children is limited, leading to unnecessary antibiotic exposure in a large fraction of patients. Urinary heat shock protein 70 (uHSP70) is a novel marker of acute urinary tract inflammation. We explored the added value of uHSP70 in discriminating UTI from other infections and conditions confused with UTI. METHODS: A total of 802 children from 37 pediatric centers in seven countries participated in the study. Patients diagnosed with UTI (n = 191), non-UTI infections (n = 178), contaminated urine samples (n = 50), asymptomatic bacteriuria (n = 26), and healthy controls (n = 75) were enrolled. Urine and serum levels of HSP70 were measured at presentation in all patients and after resolution of the infection in patients with confirmed UTI. RESULTS: Urinary (u)HSP70 was selectively elevated in children with UTI as compared to all other conditions (p < 0.0001). uHSP70 predicted UTI with 89% sensitivity and 82% specificity (AUC = 0.934). Among the 265 patients with suspected UTI, the uHSP70 > 48 ng/mL criterion identified the 172 children with subsequently confirmed UTI with 90% sensitivity and 82% specificity (AUC = 0.862), exceeding the individual diagnostic accuracy of leukocyturia, nitrite, and leukocyte esterase positivity. uHSP70 had completely normalized by the end of antibiotic therapy in the UTI patients. Serum HSP70 was not predictive. CONCLUSIONS: Urine HSP70 is a novel non-invasive marker of UTI that improves the diagnostic accuracy of conventional urinalysis. We estimate that rapid urine HSP70 screening could spare empiric antibiotic administration in up to 80% of children with suspected UTI. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

COVID-19 in pediatric patients undergoing chronic dialysis and kidney transplantation.

The study aims to present the incidence of COVID-19 in pediatric patients undergoing renal replacement therapy (RRT) and to compare the severity and outcomes of the disease between the dialysis and kidney transplant (KTx) groups. This multicenter observational study was conducted between 1 April and 31 December 2020 in Istanbul. Members of the Istanbul branch of the Turkish Pediatric Nephrology Association were asked to report all confirmed cases of COVID-19 who were on RRT, as well as the number of prevalent RRT patients under the age of 20. A total of 46 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported from 12 centers, of which 17 were dialysis patients, and 29 were KTx recipients. Thus, the incidence rate of COVID-19 was 9.3% among dialysis patients and 9.2% among KTx recipients over a 9-month period in Istanbul. Twelve KTx recipients and three dialysis patients were asymptomatic (p = 0.12). Most of the symptomatic patients in both the dialysis and KTx groups had a mild respiratory illness. Only two patients, one in each group, experienced a severe disease course, and only one hemodialysis patient had a critical illness that required mechanical ventilation. In the entire cohort, one hemodialysis patient with multiple comorbidities died.Conclusion: While most cases are asymptomatic or have a mild disease course, pediatric patients undergoing dialysis and a kidney transplant are at increased risk for COVID-19. What is Known: • In adult population, both dialysis patients and kidney transplant recipients are at increased risk for severe illness of COVID-19 and have higher mortality rate. • Children with kidney transplantation are not at increased risk for COVID-19 and most have mild disease course. • Data on children on dialysis are scarce. What is New: • Pediatric patients undergoing dialysis and kidney transplantation have an increased risk for COVID-19. • Most patients undergoing renal replacement therapy either on dialysis or transplanted develop asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 disease with a favorable outcome.

A nationwide retrospective study in Turkish children with nephrocalcinosis.

BACKGROUND: Nephrocalcinosis (NC) is defined as calcium deposition in the kidney parenchyma and tubules. This study aims to determine the etiology, risk factors, and follow-up results of patients with NC in Turkey. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with NC in the pediatric nephrology Department Units of 19 centers from all geographical regions of Turkey over a 10-year period (2010-2019) were included in the study. The medical records from the centers were reviewed and demographic data, admission complaints, medical history, systemic and genetic disorders, risk factors for NC, treatment details, and presence of NC after one-year follow-up, were recorded retrospectively. RESULTS: The study sample included 195 patients (88 females, 107 males). The mean age at diagnosis was 39.44 ± 47.25 (0.5-208) months; 82/190 patients (43.2%) were diagnosed incidentally; 46/195 patients (23.6%) had an underlying disease; idiopathic hypercalciuria was detected in 75/195 (38.4%) patients. The most common systemic diseases were distal renal tubular acidosis in 11/46 patients (23.9%), primary hyperoxaluria in 9/46 patients (19.6%) and Bartter syndrome in 7/46 patients (15.3%). After one year of follow-up, NC resolved in 56/159 patients (35.2%) and they all did not have an underlying systemic disease. DISCUSSION: The most common presentation of NC was incidental. Distal renal tubular acidosis and primary hyperoxaluria were the main systemic diseases leading to NC, while hypercalciuria was the most common metabolic risk factor. Nephrocalcinosis was found to remain in most of the patients at a one-year follow-up. It may resolve particularly in patients with no underlying systemic disease.

QT and JT dispersion and cardiac performance in children with neonatal Bartter syndrome: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: QT dispersion and JT dispersion are simple noninvasive arrhythmogenic markers that can be used to assess the homogeneity of cardiac repolarization. The aim of this study was to assess QT and JT dispersion and their relation with left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions in children with Bartter syndrome (BS). METHODS: Nine neonatal patients with BS (median age 9.7 years) and 20 controls (median age 8 years) were investigated at rest. Both study and control subjects underwent electrocardiography (ECG) in which the interval between two R waves and QT intervals, corrected QT, QT dispersion, corrected QT dispersion, JT, corrected JT, JT dispersion and corrected JT dispersion were measured with 12-lead ECG. Two-dimensional, Doppler echocardiographic examinations were performed. RESULTS: Patients and controls did not differ for gender and for serum levels of potassium, magnesium, and calcium (p > 0.05). Both study and control subjects had normal echocardiographic examination and baseline myocardial performance indexes. The QT dispersion and JT dispersion were significantly prolonged in patients with BS compared to those of the controls {37.5 ms [interquartile range (IQR) 32.5-40] vs. 25.5 ms (IQR 20-30), respectively, p = 0.014 and 37.5 ms (IQR 27.5-40) vs. 22.5 ms (IQR 20-30), respectively, p = 0.003}. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated QT and JT dispersion during asymptomatic and normokalemic periods may be risk factors for the development of cardiac complications and arrhythmias in children with BS. In these patients the need for systematic cardiac screening and management protocol is extremely important for effective prevention.

Comparison of infants and children with urolithiasis: a large case series.

We evaluated the demographic features, etiologic risk factors, treatment strategies, and outcome of the infants and children with urolithiasis (UL). A retrospective multicenter study was conducted including 23 Pediatric Nephrology centers in Turkey. The medical records of 2513 children with UL were reviewed. One thousand, three hundred and four boys and 1209 girls (1.1:1) were reported. The mean age at diagnosis was 39.5 ± 35 months (0.4-231 months), and 1262 patients (50.2%) were in the first year of life (infants). Most of the cases with infantile UL were diagnosed incidentally. Microlithiasis (< 3 mm) was found in 794 patients (31.6%), and 64.5% of the patients with microlithiasis were infants. Stones were located in the pelvis-calyces in 63.2% (n: 1530) of the cases. The most common stone type was calcium oxalate (64.6%). Hypocitraturia was the most common metabolic risk factor (MRF) in children older than 12 months, but in infancy, hypercalciuria was more common. Fifty-five percent of the patients had received at least one medical treatment, mostly potassium citrate. At the end of a year's follow-up, most of the patients with microlithiasis (85%) showed spontaneous remission. The rate of spontaneous stone resolution in infants was higher than in children. Spontaneous remission rate was higher in cases with MRF ( - ) stones than in MRF ( +) stones. However, remission rate with medical treatment was higher in cases with MRF ( +) stones. This study represents the results of a large series of infants and children with UL and showed that there are several differences such as underlying metabolic and anatomic abnormalities, clinical course, and stone remission rates between infants and children with urinary stone disease.

Could arterial stiffness be early reversible target organ damage test in childhood hypertension?

OBJECTIVE: The recommended treatment for hypertension (HTN) in children has been revised recently. This study aimed to present the changes in target organ damage (TOD) and arterial stiffness parameters after treatment in children with primary HTN who were managed in accordance with the 2016 European Society of Hypertension Guidelines. METHODS: Patients with primary HTN included in this study were newly diagnosed, untreated, and were followed-up for a minimum of 6 months. HTN was confirmed by 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). All patients underwent the following assessments: anthropometrical measurements of body mass index (BMI), carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), plasma creatinine, urea, electrolytes, uric acid, fasting plasma glucose, blood lipids, urinalysis, urine culture, and first morning urine albumin tocreatinine ratio. The ABPM device performed measurements such as central blood pressure (cBP) and pulse wave velocity (PWV). RESULTS: Thirty-two of 104 patients were enrolled. Seventeen patients were male, and 53% were obese. Compared with pretreatment, creatinine, urea, systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), systolic load, diastolic load, central SBP (cSBP), cSBP z score, cDBP, and PWV z score decreased, whereas LVMI and BMI z scores were unchanged. CONCLUSION: After BP improvement, while LVMI did not regress, the cSBP, cSBP z, and PWV z score values, which are markers of arterial stiffness, regressed. This supports the corrective effect of BP control on the cardiovascular system even in a short-term follow-up. Further longitudinal studies are needed for the assessment of BP control on arterial stiffness in childhood.

Evaluation of neuropsychological development of children diagnosed with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis: A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: Studies on primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis have supported neuromotor development delay. This study aims to examine the neuropsychological development of children with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study included 30 children diagnosed with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis and 30 healthy children. Both groups were analyzed by pediatric psychologists using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Bender Gestalt Visual Motor Detection test. The WISC-R test is an intelligence test that includes six verbal subscales (information, similarities, arithmetic, vocabulary, judgment, and digit span) and six performance subscales (picture completion, picture arrangement, block design, object assembly, coding, and labyrinths). The Bender Gestalt test is a psychological assessment instrument used to evaluate visuomotor functioning, visuospatial functions, spatial memory, visuomotor integration skills, and visual perception skills. RESULTS: There were no differences in age (7.66±0.9 versus 8±1.07 years, p>0.05) or sex (20 females versus 20 males, p>0.05) between the groups. Picture completion (p=0.024), picture arrangement (p=0.001), and object assembly test (p=0.000) performance was found to be worse in subjects with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis. Similarity (p=0.021) and judgment tests (p=0.048) of the verbal subtests were also found to be delayed in the nocturnal enuresis cases. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that children with nocturnal enuresis have lower performance compared with the control group in terms of abstract thinking, correct expression of thought, cause-result relation, short-term memory, and problem-solving ability. These children should be routinely tested by neurodevelopment tests and receive support in areas in which they are delayed.

The Clinical and Mutational Spectrum of Turkish Patients with Cystinosis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Infantile nephropathic cystinosis is a severe disease that occurs due to mutations in the cystinosis gene, and it is characterized by progressive dysfunction of multiple organs; >100 cystinosis gene mutations have been identified in multiple populations. Our study aimed to identify the clinical characteristics and spectrum of cystinosis gene mutations in Turkish pediatric patients with cystinosis. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: We identified the clinical characteristics and spectrum of cystinosis gene mutations in Turkish patients with cystinosis in a multicenter registry that was established for data collection. The data were extracted from this registry and analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 136 patients (75 men and 61 women) were enrolled in the study. The most common clinical findings were growth retardation, polyuria, and loss of appetite. None of the patients had the 57-kb deletion, but seven novel mutations were identified. The most common mutations identified were c.681G>A (p.Glu227Glu; 31%), c.1015G>A (p.Gly339Arg; 22%), and c.18_21 del (p.Thr7Phefs*7; 14%). These mutations were associated with earlier age of disease onset than the other mutations. To understand the effects of these allelic variants on clinical progression, the mutations were categorized into two major groups (missense versus deletion/duplication/splice site). Although patients with missense mutations had a better eGFR at the last follow-up visit, the difference was not significant. Patients in whom treatment began at age <2 years old had later onset of ESRD (P=0.02). Time to ESRD did not differ between the patients with group 1 and group 2 mutations. CONCLUSIONS: The most common cystinosis gene mutations identified in Turkey were c.681G>A (p.Glu227Glu), c.1015G>A (p.Gly339Arg), and c.18_21 del (p.Thr7Phefs*7). Patients with less severe cystinosis gene mutations tend to have better kidney outcome.

Urinary Netrin-1: A New Biomarker for the Early Diagnosis of Renal Damage in Obese Children.

OBJECTIVE: Urinary netrin-1 is a new marker to demonstrate early tubular damage. The aim of this study was to determine whether urinary netrin-1 is increased in obese children. METHODS: A total of 68 normoalbuminuric and normotensive obese patients and 65 controls were included in the study. Urine samples were collected for assessment of urinary phosphorus, sodium, potassium, creatinine, albumin, and netrin-1. Blood samples were collected for measurements of fasting glucose, insulin, lipid, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and creatinine levels. Homeostatic model assessment insulin resistance index was calculated. RESULTS: Gender and age were similar between obese and control groups (12.01±3.03 vs. 11.7±3.2 years, p=0.568 and 33 vs. 35 girls, p=0.543, respectively). Obese patients had significantly higher netrin-1 excretion than the controls (841.68±673.17 vs. 228.94±137.25 pg/mg creatinine, p=0.000). Urinary netrin-1 level was significantly higher in obese subjects with insulin resistance compared to those without insulin resistance (1142±1181 vs. 604.9±589.91 pg/mg creatinine, p=0.001). CONCLUSION: In normotensive and normoalbuminuric obese children, urinary netrin-1 level can increase before onset of albuminuria. Urinary netrin-1 excretion appears to be affected predominantly by insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. Urinary netrin-1 may be a new biomarker for determining early tubular injury in obese children.

The Association between Serum 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D Level and Urine Cathelicidin in Children with a Urinary Tract Infection.

OBJECTIVE: Cathelicidin is an important antimicrobial peptide in the urinary tract. Cathelicidin expression is strongly stimulated by 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D in epithelial cells, macrophages/monocytes, and neutrophils. Vitamin D and cathelicidin status in children with urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by Escherichia coli is unknown. To establish the relationship between serum vitamin D and urine cathelicidin levels in children with a UTI caused by Escherichia coli. METHODS: Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D and urine cathelicidin levels were measured in 36 patients with UTI (mean age 6.8±3.6 years, range: 0.25-12.6 years) and 38 controls (mean age 6.3±2.8 years, range: 0.42-13 years). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in urine cathelicidin levels between the study and control groups (p>0.05). Eight (22.2%) patients in the study group and 21 (58.3%) children in the control group were found to have sufficient vitamin D (≥20 ng/mL). Patients with sufficient vitamin D had higher urine cathelicidin levels than the controls with sufficient vitamin D (respectively 262.5±41.1 vs. 168±31.6 ng/mL, p=0.001). There were no significant differences between the patients and controls with insufficient vitamin D (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The children with vitamin D insufficiency may not be able to increase their urine cathelicidin level during UTI caused by Escherichia coli. There is a need of prospective studies in order to prove a beneficial effect of vitamin D supplementation for the restoration of cathelicidin stimulation and consequently for prevention of UTI recurrence.

22q11 deletion syndrome: current perspective.

Chromosome 22q11 is characterized by the presence of chromosome-specific low-copy repeats or segmental duplications. This region of the chromosome is very unstable and susceptible to mutations. The misalignment of low-copy repeats during nonallelic homologous recombination leads to the deletion of the 22q11.2 region, which results in 22q11 deletion syndrome (22q11DS). The 22q11.2 deletion is associated with a wide variety of phenotypes. The term 22q11DS is an umbrella term that is used to encompass all 22q11.2 deletion-associated phenotypes. The haploinsufficiency of genes located at 22q11.2 affects the early morphogenesis of the pharyngeal arches, heart, skeleton, and brain. TBX1 is the most important gene for 22q11DS. This syndrome can ultimately affect many organs or systems; therefore, it has a very wide phenotypic spectrum. An increasing amount of information is available related to the pathogenesis, clinical phenotypes, and management of this syndrome in recent years. This review summarizes the current clinical and genetic status related to 22q11DS.

Scientific publications in pediatrics over the last ten years in Turkey and worldwide.

In keeping with the large area of interest comprised within the field of pediatrics, the number and diversity of publications in this field has gradually increased over the last ten years in our country as well as worldwide. The objective of this paper is to offer an analysis of the status of pediatrics publications during those ten years. The publications analyzed were listed in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science and/or published in journals included in the Science Citation Index, the Science Citation Index Expanded and the Social Sciences Citation Index. All of these publications appeared in journals in which at least one pediatrics specialist published between the years 2004 and 2013. It may be seen that Turkey is in fifth place worldwide in terms of the number of studies published in these journals, with 6,134 such publications. The conclusion is that it is necessary for more Turkish studies to be multicenter, to involve international participation and to receive more citations; importance must be attached to the objective of transforming of the knowledge produced by Turkish researchers into a greater number of publications of increased quality.

Long-term results of children diagnosed with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome; single center experience.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the long-term results of children followed up with a diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome in a single center. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The medical data of 33 patients aged between 6 months and 10 years who were diagnosed with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in our center between January 2000 and December 2012 and followed up for a period of 2-12 years were reviewed (Gulhane Military Medical Academy Ethics committee, 07.11.2012/10). RESULTS: The mean age of disease onset was 3.2±2.04 years (range: 0.5-10 years) and the mean follow-up period was 6±3.4 years (range: 2-12 years). Thirteen (39.4%) of the study group (or the patients) were female and 20 (60.6%) were male. Twenty seven (1.8%) of the patients were sensitive to steroid and 6 (18.1%) were resistant to steroid. Four (12.1%) of the steroid-resistant patients had steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome, 5 (15.2%) had frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome and 18 (54.5%) had rarely relapsing nephrotic syndrome. Histopathological diagnoses of six patients who underwent biopsy because of resistance to steroid were as follows: focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (n=3), C1q nephropathy (n=1), diffuse mesangial proliferation (n=1) and membraneous nephropathy (n=1). Fifteen (45.5%) patients entered into full remission and 2 (6%) patients developed chronic renal failure. Treatment complications including decreased bone mineral density in three patients (9%), short stature in 2 patients (6%) and cataract in 2 patients (6%) developed. CONCLUSIONS: Children with nephrotic syndrome carry a risk in terms of short stature, osteoporosis, cataract and renal failure in the long-term follow-up. It was observed that our rates of response to steroid were similar to the literature and the most common histopathological diagnosis was focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in our patients who underwent biopsy because of resistance to steroid. It was thought that multi-center studies should be conducted to demonstrate regional or national differences related with long-term results of childhood nephrotic syndrome.

Circulating fibroblast growth factor 23 in children on peritoneal dialysis is associated with effective dialysis.

Our purpose was to assess the relationship between serum fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) and left ventricular function, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and laboratory features in children on peritoneal dialysis (PD). The study population consisted of 17 patients (11 female; median age 7.83 years, range 0.66-17.75) undergoing PD for 22 months (range 2-98). Serum FGF23, serum phosphorus, calcium, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), 25(OH) vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D and Kt/V urea, left ventricular mass (LVM) and LVM index (LVMI) were assessed. Median FGF23 level was 29.92 pg/ml (22.7-74.76), phosphorus was 5.2 mg/dl (3.1-9.9), iPTH was 438 pg/ml (16-1446), 25(OH) vitamin D was 11 ng/ml (5-35), 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D was 11 pg/ml (2-106), Kt/V urea was 2.33 (1.01-3.84). FGF23 level was independently associated with Kt/V urea (p<0.001). We found that effective dialysis may be the leading determinant of FGF level, independent from the calcium-phosphorus-PTH axis, in pediatric PD patients.

Elevated Urinary T Helper 1 Chemokine Levels in Newly Diagnosed Hypertensive Obese Children.

OBJECTIVE: Increasing evidence suggests that T helper (Th) cells play a significant role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of obesity and anti-hypertensive treatment on urinary Th1 chemokines. METHODS: The study groups consisted of three types of patients: hypertensive obese, healthy, and non-hypertensive obese. Pre-treatment and post-treatment samples of the hypertensive obese group and one sample from the other two groups were evaluated for urinary chemokine: regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), interferon-gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP10), and monokine induced by interferon-gamma (MIG). In the hypertensive obese group, urine microalbumin: creatinine ratio was examined before and after treatment. We recommended lifestyle changes to all patients. Captopril was started in those who could not be controlled with lifestyle changes and those who had stage 2 hypertension. RESULTS: Twenty-four hypertensive obese (mean age 13.1), 27 healthy (mean age 11.2) and 22 non-hypertensive obese (mean age 11.5) children were investigated. The pre-treatment urine albumin: creatinine ratio was positively correlated with pre-treatment MIG levels (r=0.41, p<0.05). RANTES was significantly higher in the pre-treatment hypertensive and non-hypertensive obese group than in the controls. The urinary IP10 and MIG levels were higher in the pre-treatment hypertensive obese group than in the non-hypertensive obese. Comparison of the pre- and post-treatment values indicated significant decreases in RANTES, IP10, and MIG levels in the hypertensive obese group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Th1 cells could be activated in obese hypertensive children before the onset of clinical indicators of target organ damage. Urinary RANTES seemed to be affected by both hypertension and obesity, and urinary IP10 and MIG seemed to be affected predominantly by hypertension.

Malondialdehyde, antioxidant enzymes, and renal tubular functions in children with iron deficiency or iron-deficiency anemia.

We aimed to investigate the effects of iron deficiency (ID) or iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) on oxidative stress and renal tubular functions before and after treatment of children. A total of 30 children with a diagnosis of IDA constituted the IDA group and 32 children with a diagnosis of ID constituted the ID group. Control group consisted 38 age-matched children. Serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), serum, and urinary sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), creatinine (Cr), uric acid (UA), urinary N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) levels, and intra-erythrocyte malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels were measured before and after iron therapy in the IDA and ID groups, whereas it was studied once in the control group. We have divided the study group in groups according to age (infants <2 years, children 3-9 years, and adolescents 10-15 years). Patients with IDA (infant, adolescent) and ID (infant, children, and adolescent) had a significantly high level of MDA in post-treatment period in comparison to those of healthy control. Patients with IDA (children, adolescent) and ID (infant, children) had a significantly high level of pre-treatment GSH-Px than controls. Post-treatment SOD was lower in IDA (children and adolescent) groups than control and post-treatment CAT was lower in IDA and ID (adolescent) groups than control. These findings show that ferrous sulfate used in the treatment of ID or IDA could lead to oxidative stress; however, a marked deterioration of in proximal renal tubular functions was not seen.

Cerebral vein thrombosis in a four year old with Behçet's disease.

Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem disorder. The main pathology in BD is vasculitis that involves arteries and veins of all calibers. Central nervous system involvement occurs in 5-10% of patients. Increased morbidity and mortality is rarely observed in children. The mean age at onset in pediatric BD is approximately 7 years. Neurologic involvement in BD is usually observed after 3-6 years. We report the case of a four-year-old Turkish boy with BD with sagittal sinus thrombosis treated with infliximab. The patient presented papilledema without neurologic signs. Although long-term efficacy evaluations are needed in this case, infliximab therapy may be a good option in childhood BD with refractory sinus thrombosis. This is the youngest case of BD with sagittal sinus thrombosis reported so far.