Is there any need for emergency neuroimaging in children with first complex febrile seizure?

Objectives:The current study aimed to assess the need for emergency neuroimaging in children with first CFC.Materials and methods: This is an analytic cross-sectional study which was conducted on children aged 6 -60 months with first CFS.  Data were gathered by a form which assess age, sex, radiology type, temperature, the duration of fever before convulsion, the duration and the frequency of convulsion, family history of febrile seizure. Data were reported by descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percent) and analyzed by Fisher Exact Test in SPSS version 19.Results: In this study, 111 patients with first CFC and mean age of 21.18±11.83 months enrolled. Regarding the type of CFC, results showed that the highest and lowest frequencies belonged to multiple and multiple focal prolonged FC, respectively.  Upper respiratory infection was the most common diagnosis. 2 unimportant abnormal neuroimaging results were noted. Conclusion:In this study results showed that performing emergency neuroimaging in patients with first CFS was not mandatory in the absence of developmental disorders, abnormal neurologic examination, underlying neurological disorder, and head trauma. This result is more important in our country, according to the lack of access to neuroimaging modalities in many hospitals in our country and due to its irradiation risk in childhood and cost consuming

Is Infantile Colic an Early Life Expression of Childhood Migraine?

How to Cite This Article: Tabrizi M, Badeli H, Hassanzadeh Rad A,  Aminzadeh V, Shokuhifard A. Is Infantile Colic an Early Life Expressionof Childhood Migraine? Iran J Child Neurol. summer 2017; 11(3):37-41.AbstractObjectiveMigraine is the most common childhood recurrent primary headache syndrome and infantile colic is a common cause of infantile cry. The pathogenesis of migraine and colic has not been well established and different factors may cause them. There is an association between infantile colic and the occurrence of childhood migraine. We aimed to assess whether infantile colic could be noted as an early life expression of childhood migraine or not.Materials & MethodsThis retrospective case-control study was conducted on 5-15-year-old children in Rasht, Iran during 2015-2016. Forty-one cases were children with migraine with or without aura. Overall, 123 Control participants were children with the same age referred to the pediatric clinic for routine care. Data were gathered by a checklist including age, sex, birth weight, family history of migraine, the occurrence of colic and type of feeding during infancy. Data were reported by descriptive statistics and analyzed by Fisher exact test using SPSS ver. 19.ResultsOverall, 164 children with the mean age of 8.36± 2.53 yr were enrolled.Seventeen (41.46%) children with migraine vs. 44 (35.7%) children in control group had the positive history of infantile colic and Fisher exact test noted significant relation between migraine and colic. Thirty-three children with infantile colic (46.57%) had the positive family history of migraine, which was significantly higher than 27 children without colic (29.7%). There was a significant relation between infantile feeding and migraine.ConclusionThere is a probable relation between colic and migraine, therefore, migraine and colic as 2 pain syndromes may have a common pathophysiology and further investigations on this common pathophysiology is justified.References1. Richer L, Billinghurst L, Linsdell MA, Russell K, Vandermeer B, Crumley ET, Durec T, Klassen TP, Hartling L. Drugs for the acute treatment of migraine in children and adolescents. The Cochrane Library. 2016, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD005220.2. Green A, Kabbouche M, Kacperski J, Hershey A, O’Brien H. Managing Migraine Headaches in Children and Adolescents. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol 2016;9(3):477-82.3. Pärtty A, Kalliomäki M, Salminen S, Isolauri E. Infantile Colic Is Associated With Low-grade Systemic Inflammation. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2017; 64(5):691-5.4. Bhatia J, Greer F. Use of soy protein-based formulas in infant feeding. Pediatrics 2008;121(5):1062-8.5. Shaukat A, Levitt MD, Taylor BC, MacDonald R, Shamliyan TA, Kane RL, Wilt TJ. Systematic review: effective management strategies for lactose intolerance. Ann Int Med 2010 ;152(12):797-803.6. Heine RG. Cow’s-milk allergy and lactose malabsorption in infants with colic. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2013;57:S25-S7.7. Romanello S, Spiri D, Marcuzzi E, Zanin A, Boizeau P, Riviere S, et al. Association between childhood migraine and history of infantile colic. JAMA 2013;309(15):1607- 12.8. Jan MM, Al-Buhairi AR. Is infantile colic a migraine related phenomenon? Clin Pediatr 2001;40(5):295.9. Bruni O, Fabrizi P, Ottaviano S, Cortesi F, Giannotti F, Guidetti V. Prevalence of sleep disorders in childhood and adolescence with headache: a case-control study. Cephalalgia 1997;17(4):492-8.10. Sillanpää M, Saarinen M. Infantile colic associated with childhood migraine: A prospective cohort study. Cephalalgia 2015;35(14):1246-51.11. Epstein LG, Zee PC. Infantile colic and migraine. JAMA 2013;309(15):1636-7.12. Guidetti V, Ottaviano S, Pagliarini M. Childhood headache risk: warning signs and symptoms present during the first six months of life. Cephalalgia 1984;4(4):237-42.13. Ho TW, Edvinsson L, Goadsby PJ. CGRP and its receptors provide new insights into migraine pathophysiology. Nature Rev Neurol 2010;6(10):573- 82.14. Engel MA, Becker C, Reeh PW, Neurath MF. Role of sensory neurons in colitis: increasing evidence for a neuroimmune link in the gut. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2011;17(4):1030-3.15. Gelfand AA, Thomas KC, Goadsby PJ. Before the headache Infant colic as an early life expression of migraine. Neurology 2012;79(13):1392-6.16. Hall B, Chesters J, Robinson A. Infantile colic: a systematic review of medical and conventional therapies. J Paediatr Child Health 2012;48(2):128-37.17. Critch J. Infantile colic: Is there a role for dietary interventions? Paediatr Child Health 2011;16(1):47.18. Magis D, Schoenen J. Treatment of migraine: update on new therapies. Current Opinion Neurology 2011;24(3):203-10.19. Katerji MA, Painter MJ. Infantile migraine presenting as colic. J Child Neurol 1994;9(3):336-7

CHANGE IN FREQUENCY OF ACUTE AND SUBACUTE EFFECTS OF ECSTASY IN A GROUP OF NOVICE USERS AFTER 6 MONTHS OF REGULAR USE

Background: Recent research trends are to specify the relation between patterns of ecstasy use and side effects, possibility of dependency, tolerance and long term neurocognitive damage. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of regular ecstasy use on its acute and subacute effects. Subjects and methods: At the first stage, we recruited 120 subjects. If participants continued regular use of ecstasy in this period, they were asked to participate in the second stage of the research 6 months later. Thirty-five subjects attended the second stage of the study, 5 of which were excluded because they had less than 5 drug experiences during the last 6 months. At last, we recruited 30 novice ecstasy users by means of the snowball technique in Tehran, Iran. The pattern of use and experienced effects of ecstasy was documented at the beginning and after 6 months of regular consumption with a self administered questionnaire. Results: Little or no change was observed in acute effects. Those subacute effects that had considerable increase in frequency were anxiety, depression, aggression, memory impairment, poor concentration and learning problems. Conclusion: Small change in acute effects suggests low possibility of tolerance after at least 6 months of regular use. Our results support long term neurocognitive damage and mood impairment with ecstasy use

Biotinidase Deficiency in Newborns as Respiratory Distress and Tachypnea: A Case Report

How to Cite This Article: Kohmanaee Sh, Zarkesh M, Tabrizi M, Hassanzadeh Rad A, Divshali S, Dalili S. Biotinidase Deficiency in Newborns as Respiratory Distress and Tachypnea: A Case Report. Iran J Child Neurol. Spring 2015; 9(2):58-60.AbstractObjectiveBiotin is a coenzyme composed of four carboxylases. It presents in amino acid catabolism, fatty acid synthesis, and gluconeogenesis. Biotinidase recycles the vitamin biotin. A biotinidase deficiency is a neurocutaneous disorder with autosomal recessive inheritance. The symptoms can be successfully treatedor prevented by administering pharmacological doses of biotin. Although, according to neonatal prenatal medicine (2011), a biotinidase deficiency does not manifest during the neonatal period. In this study, we report on a case of biotinidase deficiency in the first week of birth.Case ReportA 3100 g term boy was born via cesarean section. After 3 days, he was referred to the 17th Shahrivar Hospital with the chief complaint of tachypnea and grunting.Laboratory results revealed that liver and renal function tests, serum electrolytes, and blood indexes except ammonia were all normal. Within few days after the administration of oral biotin, the patient showed dramatic improvement and was discharged. However, within 4 months he was admitted two other times with the complaints of diarrhea and pneumonia. Unfortunately, he expired after 4 months.ConclusionAccording to our results, it seems that clinicians should accurately assess suspicious patients and even assess infants for biotinidase deficiency

Study of wear resistance and nanostructure of tertiary Al2O3/Y2O3/CNT pulsed electrodeposited Ni-based nanocomposite

Electrodeposition of tertiary Alumina/Yitria/carbon nanotube (Al2O3/Y2O3/CNT) nanocomposite by using pulsed current has been studied. Coating process has been performed in nickel sulphate bath and nanostructure of the obtained compound layer was examined with high precision figure analysis of SEM nanographs. The effects of process variables, i.e. Y2O3 concentration, treatment time, current density and temperature of electrolyte have been experimentally studied. Statistical methods were used to achieve the minimum wear rate and average size of nanoparticles. Finally the contribution percentage of different effective factors was revealed and confirmation run showed the validity of the obtained results. Also it has been revealed that by changing the size of nanoparticles, wear properties of coatings will change significantly. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis have confirmed smooth surface and average size of nanoparticles in the optimal coating.Вивчено електроосадження методом імпульсного струму потрійного композиту на основі вуглецевих нанотрубок, алюмінію та ітрію оксидів. Покриви наносили у нікелесульфатній ванні, а наноструктуру отриманого складного шару досліджували методом комп’ютерного аналізу знімків, одержаних на електронному мікроскопі. Вплив змінних параметрів процесу, зокрема, концентрації Y2O3, часу обробки, густини струму та температури електроліту вивчали експериментально. Для мінімізації впливу відхилень швидкості зношування та середнього розміру наночастинок на аналіз експериментальних даних використовували статистичні методи. Встановлено процентний вклад різних факторів і виконано підтверджувальний розрахунок, який показав достовірність одержаних результатів. Також виявлено, що зміна розміру наночастинок та зносотривкість покривів матиматимуть значною мірою однаковий тренд.Изучено электроосаждение методом импульсного тока тройного композита на основе углеродных нанотрубок, алюминия и иттрия оксидов. Покрытия наносили в никельсульфатной ванне, а наноструктуру полученного сложного слоя исследовали методом компьютерного анализа снимков, полученных на электронном микроскопе. Влияние изменяющихся параметров процесса, в частности, концентрации Y2O3, времени обработки, плотности тока и температуры электролита изучали экспериментально. Для минимизации влияния отклонений скорости изнашивания и среднего размера наночастиц на анализ экспериментальных данных использовали статистические методы. Установлен процентный вклад разных факторов и проведен подтверждающий расчет, который показал достоверность полученных результатов. Также установлено, что изменение размера наночастиц и износостойкость покрытий имеют в значительной степени одинаковый тренд

An Unusual Presentation of Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis With CLN6 Mutation

Background: Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL) is a rare progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by more than 530 mutations of at least 13 different genes (CLN 1-14). NCL is a part of the lysosomal disease characterized by the presence of neuronal and extraneural autofluorescent lipopigment accumulations that leads to motor and mental deterioration, developmental regression, seizure, vision loss, and premature death. NCL is classified into four main groups based on the different clinical manifestations and age of presentation. In this study, we aimed to report an unusual presentation of NCL with CLN6 mutation without retina involvement. Case Presentation: We reported a 10-year-old boy with mixed types of seizures, developmental delay, cognitive problems, unsteady gait, and speech disorders. Although after a thorough assessment, CLN6 mutation was diagnosed, he had all symptoms of this mutation, except the visual impairment. Conclusion: According to recent NCL case reports from Asia, full familiarity with its presentation by pediatricians and neurologists is obligatory. Children with developmental regression or refractory seizures, who also have visual or other neurological symptoms such as ataxia and other cerebellar symptoms, even at older ages, should be evaluated for NCL. Attention to ophthalmological examinations and neurological signs and confirming the diagnosis by biopsy or genetic analysis is desirable to prevent missed diagnosis

Fabrication of CoCr2O4 nanoparticles using polyacrylamide gel polymer template

Hypothesis: Due to the special properties of nanomaterials, the production of nanoparticles has received much attention in recent years and various methods have been used to produce these materials. One of the methods is to use polymer structures to control nanostructures. Therefore, it is possible to produce cobalt chromate nanoparticles with certain dimensions using a polymer network with controllable pore size.Method: Polyacrylamide gel was used as a template to trap metal ions to form nanoparticles in this polymer template, and the polymer network was removed with the aid of heat treatment to produce the final nanoparticles. Therefore, cobalt chromate nanoparticles were fabricated by polyacrylamide gel method. The synthetic parameters like the temperature of polymer network formation and calcination temperature on the products were investigated. The manufactured product was characterized by different methods of analysis.Findings: The results showed that the gel formation rate becomes faster with increasing temperature. X-Ray diffraction results showed that although the initial product is amorphous, a cobalt chromate crystalline spinel was produced after heat treatment at 800°C. Scanning electron microscope images showed the formation of particles with dimensions in the range of 50 to 150 nm. The thermal analysis results revealed that the polymer gel formation is destroyed after heat treatment up to 650°C. Electron microscope images showed that most of the particles have dimensions between 50 and 150 nm. The produced samples were used as photocatalysts for the degradation of methylene blue dye. The degradation results showed that the nanoparticles produced by this method effectively degrade the dye as a water pollutant. Also, the effect of the amount of photocatalyst on photodegradation yield was investigated and the results showed that by increasing the powder to maximum 3 mg, the degradation efficiency increases

Mild oxidizing synthesis of non-agglomerated Fe2O3 nanoparticles for H2S gas sensing

Agglomeration is the most common phenomenon in synthesizing nanopowders, which strictly reduces the quality of the products. In the present study, a non-agglomerated iron oxide nanopowder was synthesized via direct oxidation method from metallic iron by hydrogen peroxide. The H2S gas sensing of the nanoparticles was also investigated. The products were evaluated via XRD, TEM, XPS and BET techniques. The results showed that a precisely size-controlled iron oxide with an average particle size of 12 nm was obtained. XRD results confirmed the amorphous nature of the particles. The produced nanoparticles had a high surface area of about 92 m2/g. The powders were dispersed in water for more than three months without sedimentation. XPS results showed the existence of Fe3+ in the samples which confirms the formation of the Fe2O3 phase. The finding showed that the produced samples exhibited a high H2S detection ability. The detection limit was about 100 ppb, and the greatest sensitivity was attained at 100 ppm concentration of H2S. Additionally, the sensor's behavior in the presence of other gases shows that it has high H2S selectivity. This synthesis method introduces a new approach for producing non-agglomerated oxide ceramics with nanoscale via a mild oxidizing media from metal powders

Ecophysiological Evaluation of Three Maize (Zea mays L.) Cultivars under Irrigation Regimes and Use of Super Absorbent

To evaluate the effects of using super absorbent and irrigation regimes on seed yield and yield components of maize cultivars a split plot experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications was performed at the Research Field of Malekan Islamic Azad University. Main factor consisted of three irrigation regimes (irrigation after 70, 110 and 150 mm evaporation from pan) and subfactor of two levels of super absorbent applications (application and without application) and three maize cultivars (704, Iranian maxima and overseas maxima). Based on the results obtained it was revealed that highest seed yield (985 g/m2) belonged to the plants irrigated after 70 mm evaporation from the pan without using super absorbent. Irrigation after evaporation of 150 mm from the pan decreased both seed numbers per plant and 100 seed weight, and seed yield loss amounted to be 46.1% as compared with irrigation after 70 mm evaporation from the pan. Without using super absorbent and irrigation after 150 mm evaporation from the pan decreased seed number per ear by 38.8% and 100 seed weight by 13.8%. However, application of super absorbent and irrigation of plants after 150 mm evaporation from the pan increased by grain yield 38% as compared with out using super absorbent. There were not significant difference between cultivars for seed yield and yield components. It could be concluded that application of super absorbent under water shortage conditions may reduce crop yield losses