Dyslipidemia and Superoxide Dismutase Activity in Children with Down Syndrome

Introduction: Down Syndrome (trisomy 21) provides an interesting natural model to study atherosclerosis, since these individuals appear to be protected from plaque formation. Methodology: We assessed the lipid levels, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in 32 clinically diagnosed children of Down syndrome and 34 children matched for age and sex as controls. Results: SOD activity was found to be significantly higher (p=0.004) in children with Down Syndrome (mean=313.7 IU/ml) than in controls (mean140.2 IU/ ml). Significantly higher levels of serum triglyceride (154.7 mg/dl) and VLDL (33.9 mg/dl) were observed in Down Syndrome as compared to healthy controls (119.6 mg/dl and 23.9 mg/dl respectively; p<0.05 for each). However, the two groups did not show any significant difference in levels of serum HDL-C, LDL-C. Conclusion: The raised antioxidant activity of SOD, because of over expression of genes situated non chromosome 21, probably offers some protection against the development of atherosclerosis despite the occurrence of dyslipidemia. Key words: Chromosome 21; Down Syndrome; Trisomy 21; Superoxide dismutase.  DOI: 10.3126/jnps.v30i3.3919J Nep Paedtr Soc 2010;30(3):160-163

Clinical Spectrum and Outcome of Empyema in Nepalese Children

Keywords: Empyema; chest tube drainage, decorticationDOI = 10.3126/jnps.v28i2.1387J. Nepal Paediatr. Soc. Vol.28(2) 2008 p.49-51

Glomerular Diseases in Children - A Review of 27 Cases Recorded at a Single Centre in Eastern Nepal

Glomerular disease remains an important cause of renal disease in children. We retrospectively assessed the clinical features and histopathological diagnoses in kidney biopsy specimens in children (n=27). The medical records and histopathological diagnoses between 2003 and 2006 were reviewed. In each patient, clinical presentation, age at onset of disease, gender, presence of nephrotic range proteinuria, hematuria, hypertension and histopathological diagnoses were evaluated. SLE nephritis (n=8) and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) (n=8) were the most frequent glomerular diseases and nephrotic syndrome (n=21) was the frequent clinical manifestation. Key words: Renal biopsy, Glomerular diseases doi:10.3126/jnps.v29i1.1597 J. Nepal Paediatr. Soc. Vol.29(1) p.26-29