The ultrasonographic version of the Greulich-Pyle atlas can be used to estimate bone age even in ultrasonography departments. This method is highly correlated and a valid alternative to plain radiography for bone age estimation. This enables estimation of skeletal age in ultrasonography departments easily without exposing the patient to radiation.

These patients are presented to highlight the importance of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome. As the spectrum of associated diseases is diverse, paediatricians must be aware of this syndrome in order to initiate appropriate management.

No abstract

A cross-sectional anthropometric survey was carried out in a low socio-economic and high socio-economic region of Ankara, Turkey, to measure the weights and heights of school children. The study group consisted of 5289 children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. Both boys and girls from the high socio-economic group had superior body measurements compared to those of the low socio-economic group. The difference between the mean weight for age values of two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05), whereas no statistically significant difference was found on the basis of height for age values among all age groups. To make a comparison both with National Centre for Health Statistics and World Health Organisation (NCHS-WHO) standards and Turkish standards we used the data from high socio-economic group only. Our results showed that the mean height and weight values of boys and girls were higher than the 50th centile height and weight values of NCHS-WHO standards. Almost 25 years have passed since the measurements of Turkish standards were taken. The height differences were in the range of 0.24-1.51 cm/decade, with a mean value of 0.96 cm/ decade. These results led us to conclude that, local/regional standards for height and weight are needed, and repeated assessments are useful for follow-up of populations.

Our findings confirm that CMV is very prevalent in Turkey and is at the higher end of worldwide ranges. Using the results of the present study, the transmission mode of CMV infection and the risk for congenital CMV infection are discussed. We have come to the conclusion that the risk of fetal infection in Turkey cannot be predicted; however, most CMV infections in the first year of life are transmitted from mother to infant and this is the main source of infection in Turkey.

Iron deficiency anemia and hyperlipidemia are common public health problems in Turkey. The connection between iron and lipid metabolisms has not been clarified yet. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of iron deficiency on carnitine and lipid metabolism. Study group was consisted of 70 children (mean age 14.7 +/- 1.3 months) suffering from iron deficiency anemia and 20 healthy children (mean age 13.7 +/- 1.2 months) attended to outpatient clinics of Cumhuriyet University, Sivas were enrolled the study as the control group. Assessments of serum free carnitine concentrations, total triglyceride, total cholesterol and VLDL levels were made in both groups. The mean serum free carnitine concentration was significantly lower than the control group (18.9 +/- 0.43 nmol/ml and 45.9 +/- 1.47 nmol/ml respectively, t = 17.5 p < 0.01). Results of our study also indicated higher serum total triglyceride, total cholesterol and VLDL levels in iron deficient patients than the healthy controls. Regression analyses indicated a negative correlation between serum free carnitine and total triglyceride levels in iron deficient patients. This study confirms that iron deficiency anemia may be linked to the endogenous carnitine synthesis in pediatric age group, and thus hyperlipidemia appears to be a risk factor for premature cardiovascular diseases.

Objectives:The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the hearing ievels and transient evoi

Chest pain, a frequent complaint during childhood, rarely originates from a cardiac pathology. Although it usually is idiopathic, it also could be associated with psychogenic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and digestive disorders. This study aimed to investigate a possible relation between bone mineral density and chest pain in children. Bone mineral density and bone metabolism parameters were measured for 50 children with chest pain, and the findings were compared with those for 40 age- and sex-matched healthy children. Most of the cases (64%) were in the idiopathic group, and musculoskeletal chest pain was the second most frequent complaint (12%). Although bone mineral densities and osteocalcin levels did not differ significantly between the whole chest pain group and the control group, both were found to be lower in the musculoskeletal chest pain group than in other groups and the control group (p < 0.05). Musculoskeletal chest pain may be related to reduced bone mineral metabolism, and monitoring of risk factors is of particular importance.