Platelet selenium in children with normal and low selenium intake

The concentration of selenium was determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis in erythrocytes, platelets, and plasma of eight dietetically treated children with phenylketonuria (n=6) or maple-syrup-urine disease (n=2) with low selenium intake and for ten children with normal selenium intake. The normal selenium concentration in platelets was about 600 ng/g and about five times higher than in erythrocytes of the same children. A decreased selenium concentration in platelets was seen only when the corresponding concentrations in erythrocytes and plasma were very low. This suggests a special role of selenium in platelets.     

Dental eruption sequence and eruption times in Erythrocebus patas

Erythrocebus patas has a short inter-birth interval, juveniles become independent from their mother early, females are young at first birth, and adult females have a high mortality rate. According to Schultz’s rule, the molars of fast-growing and shorter-lived primate species erupt early relative to the replacement teeth. Based on the life history of E. patas, we hypothesized that the molars would erupt before the replacement teeth and/or that the eruption time of its molars would be early. The purpose of the present study was to determine the dental eruption sequence and eruption times for E. patas and to test our hypothesis. The eruption sequence for the permanent teeth of E. patas is \frac\textM1  \textI1  \textI2  \textM2  \textP3  \textP4  [\textC  \textM3]\textM1  \textI1  \textI2  \textM2  \textP4  [\textP3  \textC]\textM3 \frac{{{\text{M1}}\;{\text{I1}}\;{\text{I2}}\;{\text{M2}}\;{\text{P3}}\;{\text{P4}}\;[{\text{C}}\;{\text{M3}}]}}{{{\text{M1}}\;{\text{I1}}\;{\text{I2}}\;{\text{M2}}\;{\text{P4}}\;[{\text{P3}}\;{\text{C}}]{\text{M3}}}} in males and \frac\textM1  \textI1  \textI2  [\textM2  \textP4  \textP3  \textC]\textM3\textM1  \textI1  \textI2  [\textM2  \textP4  \textP3  \textC]\textM3 \frac{{{\text{M1}}\;{\text{I1}}\;{\text{I2}}\;[{\text{M2}}\;{\text{P4}}\;{\text{P3}}\;{\text{C}}]{\text{M3}}}}{{{\text{M1}}\;{\text{I1}}\;{\text{I2}}\;[{\text{M2}}\;{\text{P4}}\;{\text{P3}}\;{\text{C}}]{\text{M3}}}} in females. Because these sequences constitute the general pattern seen in cercopithecines, Schultz’s rule could not be applied to E. patas. The emergence time of upper and lower first molar (M1) is earlier in E. patas than in macaques, baboons, and mandrills and is similar to that in Chlorocebus aethiops. The emergence time of deciduous upper and lower fourth premolar (dp4) is similar to that in the above-mentioned cercopithecines but is later than that in Ch. aethiops. The emergence times of upper and lower second molar (M2) and upper and lower third molar (M3) in E. patas are earlier than those in the above-mentioned cercopithecines but later than those in Ch. aethiops. However, the intervals of the emergence time between each permanent molar in E. patas are similar to those of the above-mentioned cercopithecines. The early appearance of M2 and M3 in E. patas is related to the short interval of emergence time between dp4 and M1.     

Oro-maxillofacial development in patients with GH deficiency and in normal short children

Detailed oro-maxillofacial studies using dental cast, pantomogram and cephalogram were performed in 43 patients with GH deficiency aged 7-17 years and compared statistically to the results from 62 short children with normal GH secretion. The dental age was retarded as compared to the chronological age in patients with GH deficiency by a mean of 2.0 +/- 1.3 years. This value did not differ statistically from that observed in normal short children (1.7 +/- 0.8 years). However the bone age was significantly retarded in patients with GH deficiency (3.2 +/- 1.7 yrs vs 1.5 +/- 1.1 yrs, p less than 0.001). There was no difference between tooth size or cephalogram analysis results in the children in the two groups. The coronal arch length, basal arch width and basal arch length were shorter in patients with GH deficiency. These data indicate underdevelopment of the maxilla in patients with GH deficiency.     

Comparative EEG study in normal and autistic children

The work represents the results of a comparative study of spectral power as well as averaged coherence in alpha, beta and gamma EEG bands in 5-to-7-year-old autistic and healthy boys in the state of rest and under cognitive load (mental calculation). The mean age of the examined children was 6 years 4 months. In both healthy and autistic children, there was a clear-cut baseline frontal-occipital gradient of the alpha activity. Performance of the cognitive task led to enhancement of spectral power in the alpha1 band and shifting its maximum to the left hemisphere, did not change the activity in the alpha2 band, and considerably increased the spectral power in the alpha3 band. In healthy children, the spectral power and average coherence of the fast rhythms increased in the central and frontal areas of the left hemisphere. The right-side dominance of the spectral power of the alpha band was revealed in autistic children both in the baseline and during cognitive task. The spectral power of the gamma band was higher in autistic children than in healthy children in the baseline. The cognitive task did not change this fast activity in autistic children.     

Glutathione in fibroblasts from normal and cystinotic children

Intracellular levels of GSH and GSSG were compared in fibroblasts initiated from skin biopsies from normals and cystinotics. The concentration of GSH was essentially the same in both cell lines. However, the intracellular GSSG in cystinotic cells averaged less than half of that in normal cells. The ratio of intracellular GSH:GSSG was 10.6 in cells from cystinotics as compared with 4.7 in cells from normals. A significant distortion in the ratio of GSH:GSSG serves as another marker of the derangement of sulfur-amino acid metabolism in cystinosis. Whether this effect is primary or secondary remains to be elucidated.     

Chronology, dynamics and period of primary tooth eruption in children from Zagreb, Croatia

The aim of the present paper is to determine the beginning, order, median time, termination, dynamics, continuity and intensity of the primary tooth eruption, as well as its calendar, in a sample of children from Zagreb, Croatia. The study included 1288 children. All subjects were classified in one-year age groups. In the examined group, the continuity of tooth eruption occurs from 4.2 months to 41.5 months, i.e., for a period of 37.3 months. Each particular tooth has its own dynamics of eruption (V5-V95) which on the average amounts to 14.35 months (14.92 months in boys and 13.79 months in girls). The continuity of eruption is 35.6 months in boys and 38.9 months in girls. The dynamics of eruption is 14.82 months in boys and 13.79 in girls. The termination of tooth eruption is similar for both sexes.