Amino Acids Profile in Mentally Retarded Libyan Children | ||
| Bulletin of Egyptian Society for Physiological Sciences | ||
| Article 1, Volume 28, Issue 1, June 2008, Pages 1-10 PDF (242.08 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/besps.2008.36755 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Nura M.* 1; Nuri Sh.2; Zienat Kh.3 | ||
| 1Medical Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Garyounis University Benghazi Libya | ||
| 2Pediatrics Department, Elfateh Children Hospital, Bengazi Libya | ||
| 3Applied Medical Chemistry Department, Alexandria University | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Mental retardation is the most frequently occurring handicap in children. It interferes with learning, social and psychological development.This work was planned, to throw light on mental retardation in Libya, by studying the possible biochemical factors affecting the etiology of this medical and social problem. One hundred and thirty three mentally retarded Libyan children from both sexes were engaged in this study. They were grouped according to etiology of mental retardation into: Down’s syndrome (Group I), cerebral palsy (Group II)and other causes rater than DS or CP (group III). Serum levels of amino acids were assayed for all studied groups. The results obtained revealed that, the level of serum amino acids, serine, glutamine, histidine and arginine were significantly lower in group I than controls. In group II, the level of serum asparagine was statistically higher while the level of glutamine was statistically lower than control. Also, in group II, the levels of asparagine, serine, proline and histidine were statistically higher than group I. In group III, the levels of serine, histidine and arginine were statistically significantly higher than in group I. In group III, significant increase was detected as regards tyrosine, leucine and phenylalanine, while, only glutamine was lower than controls. Low level of serine was noticed to be specific in Down's syndrome in Libyan patients and in other patients as well. So the level of serum serine may be controlled by special diet or special treatment (drugs) to improve their I.Q levels. In conclusion,to confirm the biochemical results obtained from the present study in Benghazi and on a national level, a largerscale study should be performed on a larger sample size with more facilities to diagnose all types of abnormalities. Also, to evaluate the influence of other risk factors as dietary, cultural and environmental factors on the prevalence and different degrees of mental retardation among infants and children. | ||
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