Iron deficiency anaemia is an important health problem in Morocco. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of anaemia among school children in Kenitra. The sample represents school children of all educational levels and age ranged between 6-15 years. The level of hemoglobin, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was measured in a group of 271 school children. The seric iron was assessed and anaemia was defined when hemoglobin < 11.5 g dL(-1). A questionnaire was developed to obtain information about the daily food consumption and socio-economic conditions. The prevalence of anaemia was 16.2%. The mean hemoglobin concentration was 12.53 g dL(-1) in boys and 12.52 g dL(-1) in girls. The results suggest that iron deficiency is an important determinant of anaemia in this population. There was a significant relationship between education of the mother and anaemia in children (p = 0.004) but not with the family income. It is concluded that improving the economic status of the family, women education and health education about balanced animal and plant food consumption are recommended strategies to reduce the burden of anaemia.

No abstract

No abstract

Background: Although, the literature is abundant on the adverse effects of micronutrient deficiencies on neurocognitive performance, iron deficiency is a major public health problem worldwide because it continues to be the single most common nutritional deficiency and the main cause of anaemia in infancy and childhood. Nutritional anemia occurs when body reserves for a specific nutrient are inadequate for the synthesis of hemoglobin. This deficiency is due to inadequate iron intake and poor bioavailability. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 2 billion people in the world today are estimated to be deficient in iron deficiency. Objectives: Rates of the highest prevalences in the developing world were found among pregnant women with 56% of school children followed directly 53%. The distribution of iron in the brain is very heterogeneous, a characteristic of the species in which the concentrations were determined. The highest concentrations are localised in the nucleus accumbens, the substantia nigra (nigra), the nucleolus cerebellar deep red nucleus and some portions of the hippocampus. These distributions occur at an advanced age especially when all the neuro-developmental activity is performed. Results: Iron supplementation improves mental development scores of anemic children. These results are amplified by psychosocial stimulation at home or in specialized centers. In sectoriel studies that our team has made in the region of Kenitra with populations of school children, the results are unanimous on the correlation between martial status and school performance and/or overall intelligence score determined by Raven's Progressive Matrices when socioeconomic variables are controlled. Conclusion: A comprehensive study using evoked potentials is desirable to confirm the relationship between iron deficiency neuro-cognitive development.

No abstract

No abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. Its diagnosis is very difficult and consists of only clinical criteria. The aim of this study is to confirm autism disorder, among three children (2 girls and 1 boy), recruited in a social association of children in a precarious situation, located in Rabat, Morocco, and to evaluate some biological and neurobiological parameters among these children. The confirmation of autistic status is realized using Questionnaire (E2) and the evaluation of biological parameters (organic acids, urinary peptides, toxic metals and essential elements) is done in urine and hair of these children. Obtained children's scores of E2 Questionnaire, is found in the favor of autism. Moreover, abnormal levels of urinary organic acids, urinary peptides, toxic and essential metals are observed.

The difficulties of processing facial emotions in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were reported. The traditional educations have provided evidence that traditional educations improve social skills. Nonetheless, the processing of facial emotions was limited. A serious game, called JeStiMulE, used as a computer-based game, has been developed in order to teach emotions to individuals with ASD. The long-term use of this novel game would be of interest in teaching social skills. Interestingly, the input stimuli combine both the entertainment and education. The aim of the present study was to assess the ability of children to play the game and whether they could improve and develop social skills via recognition facial emotions. A heterogeneous group of forty (n=40) children and adolescents with ASD received two one-hour JeStiMulEsessions per week over four weeks and forty (n=40) of normally developing children took part in this experiments. All participants were presented before and after training with emotion Original Research Article