Association between arterial stiffness and risk of coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of Brachial ankle Pulse Wave Relocity (baPWV) and cfPWV on the risk of Coronary artery disease and the interaction between baPWV and risk factors of Coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: A case-control study was conducted at Department of Emergency, SunYat-Sen memorial Hospital, China. We collected 332 cases with coronary artery disease and 328 subjects without CAD between February 2012 and October 2013. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors of CAD. RESULTS: CAD subjects were more likely to be old age, and have higher BMI, waist-hip ratio, hypertension, fasting glucose, TG, carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) and baPWV, and CAD subjects had a lower TC, HDL-C and LDL-C. We found that older age, smoking, higher hypertension, TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, carotid-femoral PWV (CfPWV) and baPWV were associated with risk of CAD. baPWV had significant interaction with age, TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C, carotid-femoral PWV (cfWV) was correlated with age, HDL-C and LDL-C. CONCLUSION: This study showed that baPWV and cfPWV are two independent factors for the risk of Coronary artery disease, and baPWV and cfPWV have interaction with age, TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C.

Effects of Family-Professional Partnerships in Adapted Physical Education on the Fundamental Motor Skills, Adaptive Behaviors, and Physical Activity Levels of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and on Parent Satisfaction.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the effect of family-professional partnerships in adapted physical education on the fundamental motor skills, physical activity levels, and adaptive behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and on parental satisfaction. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial design was used, with pre-and post-intervention evaluations. Participants (n = 40), including children with ASD and their parents, were divided into three groups: (a) a family-school group (FSG-A, n = 14), (b) a school group (SG-B, n = 13), and (c) a control group (CG-C, n = 13). RESULTS: After 12 weeks of intervention, the within-group comparison revealed that the FSG-A performed better than the SG-B and CG-C for all variables. The among-group comparison further revealed that the FSG-A had greater fundamental motor skill scores than the SG-B (p = 0.021) and CG-C (p < 0.001), had greater adaptive behavior and family-professional partnership scores than the SG-B and CG-C (p < 0.001 for all), and had higher physical activity levels than the SG-B (p < 0.05) and CG-C (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study underscores the significance of robust family-professional partnerships in exercise interventions for children with ASD.

Depressive disorders among children in the transforming China: an epidemiological survey of prevalence, correlates, and service use.

BACKGROUND: To date, no one-phase survey of childhood depression has been performed in China that involves both urban and rural community children. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, correlates, and mental health service utilization of depressive disorders (DDs) in a community-based sample of 6-14-year-old children in south-central China. METHODS: Children (3,582) were approached through multistage sampling and interviewed using a Chinese version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents 5.0, which is a structured interview that is administered by trained psychiatrists to obtain information from children and their guardians. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of all current DDs was found to be 2.8% (95%CI: 1.5-3.9). The risk factors for depression included being 9-14-year old, not attending school, having unmarried parents, living in a non-nuclear family (single parent or parentless family), being taken care of by people other than two parents (single parent, grandparent(s), other relatives, or others) during the past year, and not being breastfed prior to 1 year of age. Only 5.8% of the depressed children had received professional help prior to the interview. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of DDs among children in this part of China is relatively high compared with most figures reported in other countries. Depression in this age group has been a major public health concern, but it is often underrecognized. There is an urgent need to develop efficacious interventions aimed at the prevention and early recognition of childhood depression.

[Feasibility of volume perfusion CT (VPCT) imaging in antiangiogenic treatment of rabbit VX2 soft-tissue tumor].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of volume perfusion CT imaging to dynamically monitor and evaluate the response of rabbit VX2 soft-tissue tumor to antiangiogenic treatment. METHODS: To establish an experimental animal model of VX2 soft tissue tumor on 20 New Zealand white rabbits. Twenty rabbits were randomly divided into 2 groups. The therapy group was treated with recombinant human endostatin (3 mg·kg⁻¹·d⁻¹) for 7 days, and the control group received saline in the same dose only. Four times of CT volume perfusion scan were performed before treatment and on the second, forth, seventh days of treatment, respectively. The value of blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), and permeability (PMB) in the VX2 tumors were measured after scanning. The microvessel density (MVD) and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the tumors were determined using immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: The tumor volume of the therapy group was (1.36 ± 0.73) cm³ on the forth day of treatment and (1.69 ± 0.68) cm³ on the seventh day of the treatment. The tumor volume of the control group was (2.35 ± 0.62) cm³ on the fourth day of treatment and (3.87 ± 0.93) cm³ on the seventh day of the treatment (P < 0.05). On the seventh day of treatment, tumor necrosis ratio of the therapy group and the control group was (25.58 ± 5.51)% and (42.93 ± 4.34)%, respectively (P < 0.05). Comparing the perfusion parameters between the two groups on the same day, and the second, forth, seventh days of treatment, the value of PMB of the therapy group was (70.36 ± 23.46) ml·100 ml⁻¹·min⁻¹, (79.64 ± 13.68) ml·100 ml⁻¹·min⁻¹ and (84.76 ± 3.55) ml·100 ml⁻¹·min⁻¹, respectively, and that in the control group was (26.61 ± 6.47) ml·100 ml⁻¹·min⁻¹, (33.74 ± 16.47) ml·100 ml⁻¹·min⁻¹ and (30.47 ± 10.64) ml·100 ml⁻¹·min⁻¹, respectively (P < 0.05). The value of BF in the therapy group and control group was (71.19 ± 12.21) ml·100 ml⁻¹·min⁻¹ and (43.56 ± 12.21) ml·100 ml⁻¹·min⁻¹, respectively, on the seventh day of treatment (P < 0.05). The parameters on different days in the same group were compared. In the control group, the value of BF on the seventh day of treatment was significantly lower than that before and on the second and forth days of treatment (P < 0.05). However, in the therapy group, the value of PMB on the second, forth, and seventh days of treatment was significantly higher than that before treatment (P < 0.05). MVD of tumor in the control group was increased gradually, whereas increased on the first day and then decreased more in the therapy group. The VEGF expressions did not differ significantly between the experimental and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: Volume perfusion CT is helpful to quantify the tumor perfusion and evaluate the functional changes of tumor vasculature, and then evaluate the early therapeutic effect of antiangiogenic treatment.

[Risk factors for intra-abdominal hypertension in children with sepsis].

OBJECTIVE: To study risk factors for the occurrence of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) in children with sepsis. METHODS: A nest case-control study was employed. According to intra-abdominal pressures (IAP) measured by cystometry, 119 children with sepsis were classified into normal IAP (control, n = 80) and IAH groups (n = 39). Risk factors for the occurrence of IAH were investigated by monovariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Monovariable analysis showed that there were significant differences in pediatric critical illness score (PCIS), procalcitonin (PCT) level, PaCO(2), blood lactate level, rates of intestinal or intra-abdominal infection, ascites, gastrointestinal dysfunction, mechanical ventilation, shock and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) between the IAH and control groups (P < 0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that decreased PCIS, MODS, shock, gastrointestinal dysfunction and ascites were major risk factors for the occurrence of IAH. CONCLUSIONS: Children with sepsis who have decreased PCIS, MODS, shock, gastrointestinal dysfunction and ascites are at risk for the occurrence of IAH.

Global Trends in Physical-Activity Research of Autism: Bibliometric Analysis Based on the Web of Science Database (1980-2021).

The World Health Organization has identified nervous system diseases as one of the biggest public health problems, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Considering the extensive benefits of physical activity (PA), the literature on the PA research of ASD has increased each year, but there is a lack of bibliometric analyses in this field. To investigate the research achievements worldwide, this paper adopts bibliometrics to analyze the trend in the academic literature on the PA research of ASD published from 1980 to 2021. The documents were retrieved from the Web of Science database, and the search strategy was to combine the keywords related to "physical activity" and "autism spectrum disorder" by using the Boolean operator tools "OR" and "AND" in the title. A total of 359 English documents were retrieved. Microsoft Excel, Data Wrapper, VOSviewer, and Biblioshiny were used for the visual analysis. We found that the number of published documents increased the fastest from 2017 to 2021, which may be due to the promulgation of the Global Action Plan for Physical Activity 2018-2030 and the influence of COVID-19 on the world. The United States and the University of California systems are in the leading position in this field. Cooperation among countries with different levels of development will help to jointly promote the PA research progress on ASD. The focus themes include "individual effect", "social support" and "activity dose". The analysis of the frontier topic points out that researchers are paying increasing attention to how to improve the health and physical fitness of this group through PA. This research clearly puts forward a comprehensive overview, theme focus, and future trends in this field, which may be helpful to guide future research.

A Bibliometric and Visual Analysis of Exercise Intervention Publications for Alzheimer's Disease (1998-2021).

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide, posing a considerable economic burden to patients and society as a whole. Exercise has been confirmed as a non-drug intervention method in the related literature on AD. However, at present, there are still few bibliometric studies on AD exercise research. In order to fill the gap, this paper aims to intuitively analyze the growth in AD exercise literature published from 1998 to 2021 using bibliometrics, providing historical insights for scientific research circles. The main source of literature retrieval is the Web of Science database. Using the Boolean operator tools "OR" and "AND" combined with keywords related to "exercise" and "Alzheimer's disease", we conducted a title search and obtained 247 documents. Using Microsoft Excel, Datawrapper, and Biblioshiny, this study carried out a bibliometric analysis of countries, institutions, categories, journals, documents, authors, and keyword plus terms. The study found that the number of papers published from 2016 to 2021 had the greatest increase, which may have been influenced by the Global Dementia Report 2015 and COVID-19. Interdisciplinary cooperation and the research results published in high-scoring journals actively promoted research and development in the AD exercise field. The United States and the University of Minnesota system play a central role in this field. In future, it will be necessary to explore the effectiveness and feasibility of multi-mode interventions on an active lifestyle, including exercise, in different groups and environments worldwide. This study may provide a direction and path for future research by showing the global overview, theme evolution, and future trends of research results in the AD exercise field.

[Evaluation of the effect of repairing unilateral cleft lip nose deformity with autogenous concha cartilage].

PURPOSE: To explore the effect of nasal deformity correction after unilateral cleft lip repair with autogenous concha cartilage transplantation. METHODS: Thirteen patients with nasal deformity after unilateral cleft lip surgery were collected, who were treated with autogenous concha cartilage and nasal septum deviation correction at the same time. Their chin-lifting photos were taken before operation, five days, one month and six months after operation. The nasal morphology was evaluated by subjective evaluation and objective measurement, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0 software package. RESULTS: Subjective evaluation showed that there was significant difference in nasal morphology between prior to operation and 5 days postoperatively (P=0.000), but there was no significant difference between 5 days postoperatively and 1 month and 6 months postoperatively(P=0.110, 0.053). In objective measurement, there was no significant difference in the symmetry rate of nasal tip between prior to operation and 5 days, 1 month and 6 months after operation(P=0.051, 0.136, 0.204), but there was significant difference in the symmetry rate of nasal base, nasal columella, extranasal convex angle and nasal alar base inclination angle between prior to operation and 5 days postoperatively(P=0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000). However, there was no significant difference in symmetry rate of the above four indexes between 5 days after operation and 1 month and 6 months after operation(P＞0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Autogenous concha cartilage transplantation can effectively improve the symmetry of nasal floor, columella and alar after operation, and the effect is stable half a year after operation.

[A finite element study of the influence of upper lip pressure on the development of maxilla after cleft lip surgery].

PURPOSE: To explore the mechanism of upper lip pressure on maxilla after cleft lip surgery. METHODS: ANSYS 17.0 software was used to add the upper lip soft tissue to the finite element model of maxilla with cleft palate, and the material properties was assigned to form a three-dimensional finite element model of maxilla with upper lip. The upper lip pressure was applied to the model and force analysis was performed in 2 groups. In the experimental group, upper lip pressure with cleft lip surgery was applied; in the control group, upper lip pressure in normal children of the same age was applied. RESULTS: Maxillary deformation in the experimental group was greater than that in the control group. Maxillary deformation occurred in three-dimensional direction, which was mainly in Z axis, followed by X axis and Y axis. The anterior segment of alveolar process was the most obvious，and from the anterior to the posterior, the change trend was gradually decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Maxillary growth is inhibited in three-dimensional direction,which is mainly sagittal growth inhibition,followed by transverse and vertical growth. The inhibition gradually decreases from anterior to posterior.

Recent Advancements in Intestinal Microbiota Analyses: A Review for Non-Microbiologists.

Microbial constituents naturally inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract may influence the homeostasis of the gut environment. The presence or overabundance of some bacterial taxa has been reported to be associated with complex diseases, and the metabolites of certain bacteria may contribute to diverse disorders by influencing signaling pathways. Therefore, the study of gut microbial population has emerged as a crucial field and a new potential area of clinical significance. Advances in the methods of microbiota analysis have shed light upon the details including species diversity, microfloral activities as well as the entire gut microbiota. Nevertheless, comprehensive reviews on this subject are still limited. For elucidating the appropriate selection strategy of the methods to address a particular research question, we comprehensively reviewed the continuously improving technologies, classical to newly developed, and dissected their relative advantages and drawbacks. In addition, aiming at the rapidly advancing next-generation sequencing, we enumerated the improvements in mainstream platforms and made the horizontal and vertical comparison among them. Additionally, we demonstrated the four main -omics methods, which may provide further mechanistic insights into the role of microbiota, to propel phylotyping analysis to functional analysis.

Effects of different concentrations and exposure time of sodium hypochlorite on the structural, compositional and mechanical properties of human dentin.

This study evaluated the effects of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) with different concentrations and exposure time on the structural, compositional and mechanical properties of human dentin in vitro. Sixty dentin slabs were obtained from freshly extracted premolars, randomly distributed into four groups (n=15), and treated with 1%, 5%, 10% NaOCl and distilled water (control group), respectively, for a total of 60 min. Attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were carried out before, 10 min and 60 min after the treatment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and flexural strength test were conducted as well. The results showed that dentins experienced morphological alterations in the NaOCl groups, but not in the control group. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed that the carbonate:mineral ratio (C:M), Raman relative intensity (RRI), a-axis, c-axis length and full width at half maximum (FWHM) with the increase of time and concentration in the NaOCl groups were not significantly different from those in the control group (P>0.05). Nevertheless, the mineral:matrix ratio (M:M) increased and the flexural strength declined with the increase of concentration and the extension of time in the NaOCl groups (P<0.05). Additionally, it was found that the M:M and the flexural strength remained unchanged after 1% NaOCl treatment (P>0.05), and the morphology changes were unnoticeable within 10 min in 1% NaOCl group. These results indicated that NaOCl has no significant effects on the inorganic mineral of human dentin; but it undermines and eliminates the organic content concentration- and time-dependently, which in turn influences the flexural strength and toughness of dentins. In addition, an irrigation of 1% NaOCl within 10 min can minimize the effects of NaOCl on the structural and mechanical properties of dentin during root canal treatment.

Efficacy and safety of itraconazole use in infants.

BACKGROUND: Itraconazole has been used to treat fungal infections, in particular invasive fungal infections in infants or neonates in many countries. DATA SOURCES: Literature search was conducted through Ovid EMBASE, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, CNKI and Google scholarship using the following key words: "pediatric" or "infant" or "neonate" and "fungal infection" in combination with "itraconazole". Based on the literature and our clinical experience, we outline the administration of itraconazole in infants in order to develop evidence-based pharmacotherapy. RESULTS: Of 45 articles on the use of itraconazole in infancy, 13 are related to superficial fungal infections including tinea capitis, sporotrichosis, mucosal fungal infections and opportunistic infections. The other 32 articles are related to systemic fungal infections including candidiasis, aspergillosis, histoplasmosis, zygomycosis, trichosporonosis and opportunistic infections as caused by Myceliophthora thermophila. CONCLUSION: Itraconazole is safe and effective at a dose of 5 mg/kg per day in a short duration of therapy for superficial fungal infections and 10 mg/kg per day for systemic fungal infections in infants. With a good compliance, it is cost-effective in treating infantile fungal infections. The profiles of adverse events induced by itraconazole in infants are similar to those in adults and children.

Research Overview of Biological Activity and Chemical Reactions in Process of Oligosaccharides of TCM / 中国中医药信息杂志

The origin and distribution of oligosaccharides of TCM are extensive, and its special biological activity and chemical properties have great potential in health preserving and disease prevention and treatment. The researches about its components are increasing, and its research and application are expanded. Oligosaccharides of TCM can be obtained by natural extraction, degradation and artificial synthesis. Among them, the natural extraction method is the most suitable for chromatography. The oligosaccharides of TCM have different groups and connections, and the structure is complex, with different chemical reactions in the process. This article reviewed the research overview of oligosaccharides of TCM from the aspects of separation, biological activity and chemical reactions in the process.

Effects of Different Concentrations and Exposure Time of Sodium Hypochlorite on the Structural, Compositional and Mechanical Properties of Human Dentin / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

This study evaluated the effects of sodium hypochlorite (NaOC1) with different concentrations and exposure time on the structural,compositional and mechanical properties of human dentin in vitro.Sixty dentin slabs were obtained from freshly extracted premolars,randomly distributed into four groups (n=15),and treated with 1％,5％,10％ NaOC1 and distilled water (control group),respectively,for a total of 60 min.Attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy,Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were carried out before,10 min and 60 min after the treatment.Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and flexural strength test were conducted as well.The results showed that dentins experienced morphological alterations in the NaOC1 groups,but not in the control group.Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed that the carbonate:mineral ratio (C:M),Raman relative intensity (RRI),a-axis,c-axis length and full width at half maximum (FWHM) with the increase of time and concentration in the NaOC1 groups were not significantly different from those in the control group (P＞0.05).Nevertheless,the mineral:matrix ratio (M:M) increased and the flexural strength declined with the increase of concentration and the extension of time in the NaOC1 groups (P＜0.05).Additionally,it was found that the M:M and the flexural strength remained unchanged after 1％ NaOCl treatment (P＞0.05),and the morphology changes were unnoticeable within 10 min in 1％ NaOC1 group.These results indicated that NaOC1 has no significant effects on the inorganic mineral of human dentin;but it undermines and eliminates the organic content concentration-and time-dependently,which in turn influences the flexural strength and toughness of dentins.In addition,an irrigation of 1％NaOCl within 10 min can minimize the effects of NaOC1 on the structural and mechanical properties of dentin during root canal treatment.

[Correlations between serum interleukin-18 (IL-18) level, IL-18 gene promoter polymorphisms and the development of sepsis in children].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlations of serum interleukin-18 (IL-18) level and IL-18 gene promoter polymorphisms to the development of sepsis in children. METHOD: Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the authors tested the serum IL-18 level in 90 patients with sepsis and 123 normal controls, and their single nucleotide polymorphisms of the promoter region of IL-18 gene at position -607C/A and -137G/C were detected using polymerase chain reaction with sequence specific primers method and sequencing technique. RESULT: (1) The serum IL-18 level in sepsis groups was (196.56 +/- 157.32) pg/ml that was significantly higher than (66.16 +/- 41.63) pg/ml in normal controls (P < 0.01), the more severe the degree of sepsis was, the more significantly higher the serum IL-18 level was. The serum IL-18 level in non serious sepsis group was (152.87 +/- 114.96) pg/ml that was significantly higher than (66.16 +/- 41.63) pg/ml in normal controls, the serum IL-18 level in serious sepsis group was (191.98 +/- 169.72) pg/ml that was significantly higher than that in non serious sepsis group, and the serum IL-18 level in extremely serious sepsis patients was (323.89 +/- 159.35) pg/ml, the difference was highly significant (P = 0.000). The difference was significant among the groups with different severity of sepsis (P < 0.01). There was a negative correlation between PCIS (pediatric critical illness score) of sepsis and the serum IL-18 level (P < 0.01). (2) There were polymorphisms in IL-18 gene promoter of matched healthy children and sepsis in children. The GG genotype frequency (61.8%) of IL-18-137G/C in healthy children was the highest, followed by GC genotype (35.8%) and CC genotype (2.4%) in sequence. The G allele frequency (79.7%) was higher in IL-18-137G/C of healthy children than C allele (20.3%). The GG genotype frequency (71.1%) of IL-18-137G/C in septic children was the highest, the next were GC genotype (26.7%) and CC genotype (2.2%). The G allele frequency (84.4%) was higher in IL-18-137G/C of septic children than C allele (15.6%). The CA genotype frequency (61.0%) of IL-18-607C/A in healthy children was the highest, followed by CC genotype (26.8%) and AA genotype (12.2%). The C allele frequency (57.3%) was higher in IL-18-607C/A of healthy children than A allele (42.7%). The CA genotype frequency (76.7%) of IL-18-607C/A in septic children was the highest, followed by CC genotype (21.1%) and AA genotype (2.2%) in sequence. The C allele frequency (59.4%) was higher in IL-18-607C/A of septic children than A allele (40.6%). (3) The genotype frequency of IL-18-607 CA was 76.7% in sepsis groups that was significantly higher than 61.0% in normal controls, and the genotype frequency of -607 AA was 2.2% in sepsis groups that was significantly lower than 12.2% in normal controls, the difference was significant (P < 0.05). (4) In the order of -137CC, -137GC, -137GG, the serum IL-18 level in normal controls were as follows: (45.67 +/- 28.36) pg/ml, (53.27 +/- 37.91) pg/ml, (76.91 +/- 42.44) pg/ml, and with (140.50 +/- 60.10) pg/ml, (184.42 +/- 157.33) pg/ml, (237.02 +/- 161.76) pg/ml respectively in sepsis groups. In the order of -607AA, -607CA, -607CC, the serum IL-18 level in normal controls were: (48.80 +/- 32.11) pg/ml, (68.41 +/- 42.53) pg/ml, (70.17 +/- 43.87) pg/ml; and with (141.50 +/- 64.35) pg/ml, (151.21 +/- 121.19) pg/ml, (211.16 +/- 163.64) pg/ml respectively in sepsis groups. The difference was not significant among different groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The serum IL-18 level in sepsis groups was significantly higher than that in normal controls, which was related to the severity of sepsis. It was possible that the genotype of -607CA carriers was susceptible to sepsis, which mean that the genotype of -607CA might be susceptible genotype of sepsis. However, the genotype of -607AA might play an oppose role in the risk of sepsis.

[Follow up of 16 cases with congenital toxoplasmosis treated with azithromycin].

OBJECTIVE: To study the therapeutic effects of azithromycin in treatment of congenital toxoplasmosis in children. METHODS: Definite diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis was made on the basis of clinical manifestation combined with one or more positive results of the following laboratory tests and excluded other congenital infectious diseases: toxoplasma DNA (TOX-DNA), circulating toxoplasma antigen (TOX-CAG), and toxoplasma IgM antibody (TOX-IgM). All the patients were given oral azithromycin 10 mg/(kg.d) for 6 days followed by 8 days without medication (one course of treatment), and the regimen was persisted for 2 months and then another 2-month treatment was given at a 1-month interval. The authors continued to provide further treatment according to the state of the illness at one month interval. The patients received 2 to 8 (average 5) courses of treatment. The patients were followed-up for 2.5 to 5 (average 4) years. RESULTS: The treatment was effective in all the patients and the patient's condition was improved. The authors repeated in 12 cases the four tests for toxoplasma (TOX-DNA, TOX-CAG, TOX-IgM, and TOX-IgG) 9 months to one and a half years after treatment. In 10 cases all these tests showed negative results, in 2 cases TOX-IgG was positive and in the other 4 cases symptoms disappeared. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that oral azithromycin had significant therapeutic effects with little side effect and was well tolerated. Azithromycin may become an alternative therapy in treatment of congenital Toxoplasma gondii infection in children.