Mercede Enshaei
M.D, Gilan University School of Medical Sciences, Iran
Title: Iron Status Profile in Children with Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders: A Comparison with Normal Children
Biography
Biography: Mercede Enshaei
Abstract
Movement disorders are a growing field of pediatric neurology. Unlike adults, it seems children are more likely to suffer from hyperkinetic movement disorders. Some studies have been done on serum iron in affected adults, but there are limited data in pediatrics. This survey case-control study was aimed to compare iron profiles in children with hyperkinetic movement disorders with healthy children.
We evaluated 50 children 2-12 years of age with hyperkinetic movement disorders including 18 tic disorders, ten dystonia, 8 chorea, 6 myoclonus, 3 stereotypies, 3 athetosis (with a history of neonatal kernicterus) and 2 tremor; 26 male and 24 female with mean age of 8.2±2.37 (2-12) years. Fifty healthy children as age and sex-matched controls were enrolled too. In children with hyperkinetic movement disorders serum iron, TIBC, and serum ferritin were 51.8 ± 2.77µg/dl, 450± 9.42 µg/dl and 47.92 ± 7.87 ng/ml; while in normal children these amounts were 81.4±3.94 µg/dl, 356 ± 12.34 µg/dl and 140.68 ± 13.61 ng/ml respectively. The differences of each parameter between two groups were statistically significant. (P-value < 0.05)
There was a significant difference between patients with hyperkinetic movement disorders and healthy controls regarding iron profiles. Our findings suggest that decreased blood iron levels may have a predisposing effect on hyperkinetic movement disorders, although the knowledge about the mechanism is still limited. Since these disorders affect the quality of life, it seems further studies are needed to understand the mechanism and make some recommendations on prevention or control of the disease.