The Effect of Purgative Manna on the Infant Jaundice: Jaundice treatment by purgative manna

Infant jaundice is observed during the first week of life in approximately 60% of term and 80% of preterm infants. Hyperbilirubinemia may lead to the development of kernicterus, hearing loss, and convulsion. The goal of therapy in hyperbilirubinemia is lowering blood bilirubin levels or at least preventing its increase. It is recommended that phototherapy and if unsuccessful, blood exchange transfusion be used to keep bilirubin in the normal levels. In the Iranian traditional medicine, Cotoneaster manna (purgative manna) is commonly used in the treatment of infant jaundice. However, no scientific data was available regarding its effectiveness. In this study, purgative manna which was obtained from Cotoneaster discolor Pojark from south eastern Iran was used as an oral drop preparation. After standardization of the manna and the drop, clinical study was performed on 200 hyperbilirubinemic newborns. The serum bilirubin was assayed twice a day, using spectrophotometric method. The results showed that 88% of the infants who were treated by purgative manna plus phototherapy were cured during the first 3 days of administration, but only 21% of the infants who were treatment by phototherapy alone were cured

Selective screening of 650 high risk Iranian patients for detection of inborn error of metabolism

Objective: Although metabolic diseases individually are rare ,but overall have an incidence of 1/2000 and can cause devastating and irreversible effect if not diagnosed early and treated promptly. selective screening is an acceptable method for detection of these multi presentation diseases. Method: using panel neonatal screening for detection of metabolic diseases in 650 high risk Iranian patients in Fars province. The following clinical features were used as inclusion criteria for investigation of the patients. Lethargy, poor feeding ,persistent vomiting, cholestasis, intractable seizure ,decreased level of consciousness ,persistent hypoglycemia, unexplained acid base disturbance and unexplained neonatal death. Result: Organic acidemia with 40 cases (42%) was the most frequent disorder diagnosed in our high risk populations, followed by disorder of galactose metabolism(30%), 15 patient had classic galactosemia(GAL