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Background and purpose: Zinc transporter autoantibody 8 (ZnT8A) was recently identified as a novel antibody antigen in type 1 diabetes mellitus, and its positivity is associated with early onset of the disease. So the present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of autoantibodies related to type 1 diabetes mellitus, especially ZnT8A as a newer antibody in children from 1 to 18 years of age referred to Amirkola Children's Hospital. Materials and methods: In this descriptive and analytical study, 80 children under 18 years of age with type 1 diabetes referred to Amirkola Children's Hospital, Babol, Iran during the years 2013 to 2021 were included in the study. Pediatric diabetes was diagnosed based on the criteria of the American Diabetes Association and with a visit to a pediatric endocrinologist. Antibodies related to type 1 diabetes including 65 glutamic decarboxylase (anti-GAD), protein tyrosine phosphatase (IA-2A), anti-islet cell autoantibodies (ICA), insulin autoantibodies (IAA), and zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8A) was measured from their blood samples at the time of disease diagnosis by ELISA method. Data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square, and Fisher's exact test. The significance level in this study was considered as p

Background and purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between electrolyte disorders and disease severity in children with COVID-19 infection referred to Amirkola Children's Hospital. Materials and methods: We performed the cross-sectional study on children aged 1 month to 18 years with COVID-19 infection referred to Amirkola pediatrics hospital, Babol, Iran from March 2018 to July 2018. The level of serum of potassium, sodium, calcium, and fasting blood sugar were measured at the beginning of hospitalization in all study children. Severity of COVID-19 infection was evaluated with Pediatric Early Warning Score (PEWS). Data were analyzed using Chi-Square, ANOVA, and logistic regression tests. P-values of less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: Out of 160 children referred to the hospital during the study, 122 were selected. The most common electrolyte disorders were hyponatremia (42.6%) and hypocalcaemia (16.4%). No significant relationship was found between calcium (P=0.30) and potassium (P=0.12) disorders and severity of COVID-19 infection. There was a significant relationship between the sodium disorder and severity of COVID-19 infection (P

Background and purpose: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic disease with multiple long-term complications that could trigger depression. This study was performed to determine the relationship between HbA1C levels and depression in children and adolescents with T1DM. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in all children and adolescents with T1DM attending an endocrine clinic affiliated with Amirkola Children's Hospital, Iran 2018-2019. The patients aged 7-18 years old and at least 1.5 years had passed since the onset of their diabetes. Average of three HbA1c values (every six months) were considered and depression was measured using the Marques Children Depression Inventory. Results: Out of 100 patients with T1DM based on age-appropriate HbA1c, good, poor, and severe control of diabities were seen in 22%, 74%, and 4%, respectively. The risk of of depression in patients with poor control of diabities was 1.75 times higher than those with a good control of the disease, but this was not statistically significant (P=0.29). The risk of depression in children with illness duration of more than 6 years was 3.74 times higher than that in children with less than 6 years duration of the disease (P= 0.005). Conclusion: Better management of T1DM and HbA1c levels are needed to reduce the risk of depression in these patients.

Background and purpose: Beta thalassemia major is one of the most common inherited blood diseases and patients with this condition require regular blood transfusions. The resulting iron overload deposition causes endocrine gland disorders, including growth hormone (GH) abnormality. In this study, we examined the effects of recombinant growth hormone (rGH) in these patients. Materials and methods: This retrospective study was performed in thalassemia major patients in Amirkola Thalassemia Center, using the medical records (2011-2018), to evaluate the therapeutic effects of rGH on growth velocity of six short stature patients aged 7-15 years (four boys and two girls). On the basis of abnormal or normal response to GH provocation test, the patients were included in GH deficiency (GHD) group (n=3) and idiopathic short stature (ISS) group (n=3), respectively. The data were analyzed in SPSS-18. Results: The mean age of patients was 11.00 ± 2.75 years old. The mean values for growth velocity before and after the treatment were 4.00± 0.86 and 7.83 ± 1.25 cm/year in GHD group (P=0.057) and 4.06 ± 0.81 and 6.00 ± 1.50 cm/year in ISS group, respectively (P=0.023). Conclusion: In this study, the positive therapeutic effects of rGh in improvement of growth velocity were seen in thalassemia major patients (both GHD and ISS groups).