Aim of the study: to determine the features of the formation of psychophysiological and cognitive functions in 6–17 year children using a comprehensive and screening software of the original package of the complex “Psychomat”.

Materials and methods. A screening examination of 184 apparently healthy  6–17 year schoolchildren was carried out using a complex of psychophysiological tests and original methods for studying higher mental functions (24 tests, 66 parameters). To verify the screening program, a comprehensive examination of 60 apparently healthy schoolchildren of the same age was carried out.

Results. The patterns of formation of cognitive and psychophysiological functions in 6–17 year children have been established. No gender differences were found in the analysis of cognitive and psychophysiological functions in children. Significant differences in the rate of formation of psychophysiological functions have been identified in children of primary school age (8–10 years) and are associated mainly with the speed of response and coordination. As the age of children increases, test parameters reflecting the characteristics of perception, memory, attention, analytical and synthetic processes also undergo changes: both the total and average time for completing tasks and the number of errors decrease, and the pace of execution increases.

Conclusion. The original software package «Psychomat» allows using comprehensive and screening assessment of both psychophysiological and cognitive functions in 6–17 year children. The screening software as the sensitive method for detecting violations of psychophysiological and cognitive functions in the conditions of a mass examination of children  can be used as a test system.

Contributions:
Uvakina E.V., Kuzenkova L.M. — concept and design of the research;
Uvakina E.V., Popovich S.G. — collection and processing of materials;
Uvakina E.V. — text writing;
Kuzenkova L.M., Fisenko A.P. — editing.
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all its parts.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: December 14, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021

Introduction. Currently, there is an increase in the incidence and an increase in the severity of the course of COVID-19 in children. The tropism of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to the cardiovascular system has been established, while post-COVID syndrome with various manifestations is recorded in 25% of recovered adolescents.

The purpose of the work was to identify the features of the electrocardiogram (ECG) pattern in children hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19.

Results. Significant changes in the conductivity and activity of the left heart myocardium were found in COVID-19 patients with pneumonia and respiratory failure. Pronounced changes in ECG indices were found in children of senior school age who were admitted for treatment 2.4 times more often than other children. Proarrhythmogenic ECG indices in children were detected in severe COVID-19 — with community-acquired pneumonia (ΔQTc, QTc_min) and respiratory failure (TpTe/QT_max). These ECG changes, combined with the trend in inflammation markers (an increase in the C-reactive protein level and a decrease in the number of lymphocytes) in children with a moderate course of COVID-19 may be a sign of the involvement of the myocardium in an infectious inflammatory process. This suggests that the effect on the myocardium is exerted by systemic inflammation and not by the hemodynamic overload of the right heart, which is expected in pulmonary pathology.

Conclusion. The obtained data indicate the need for dynamic ECG monitoring during the acute stage of the disease and rehabilitation of children who suffered from COVID-19.

Contribution:
Kozhevnikova O.V., Fisenko A.P., Dyakonova E.Y. — research concept and design of the study;
Paltseva A.E., Polyakova A.S., Akhmedova E.E., Logacheva O.S., Rodionova A.M., Abashidze E.A., Nemtseva S.Y., Zakirov R.S. — collection and processing of material;
Balabanov A.S. — statistical processing;
Kozhevnikova O.V. — text writing;
Semikina E.L., Ivardava M.I. — editing.
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.

 Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: November 26, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021

Introduction. Nephrotic syndrome (NS) with an onset in the first year of life is one of the actual problems in pediatric nephrology due to the limited therapeutic options, the ineffectiveness of immunosuppressive therapy, and inevitable progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD). The basis of congenital NS (CNS) and infantile NS (INS) is a genetically determined pathology of podocytes. The timely verification of such pathology allows avoiding ineffective therapy and helps to predict outcomes. Aim. To determine CNS and INS’s clinical and molecular genetic characteristics in Russian children.

Materials and methods. This study performed molecular genetic testing of 99 children with an early onset of NS.

Results. In children with CNS and INS, the genetic cause of the disease was verified in 85%. Causative nucleotide variants prevailed in the NPHS1, NPHS2, WT1 genes. It became possible to identify the significant nucleotide variants for the Russian group of children. Children with NS at an early age turned out to be resistant to therapy with calcineurin inhibitors, which should be considered when choosing therapy tactics.

Conclusion. We detected the genetic structure of congenital and infantile NS in the Russian Federation during the study. We analyzed the effectiveness of therapy with calcineurin inhibitors and the rate of CKD progression in this group.

Contribution:
Milovanova A.M., Tsygin A.N., Savostyanov K.V. — the concept and design of the study;
Milovanova A.M., Ananin P.V. — collection and processing of material, statistical processing;
Milovanova A.M., Ananin P.V., Vashurina T.V. — text writing;
Pushkov A.A., Zrobok O.I., Ryaposova A.B. — editing.
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: December 06, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021

The aim of this work is to determine changes in erythrocyte and platelet indices during standard therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in children and combination with hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO).

Materials and methods. We used the blood of  147 children of both genders aged 6–17 years with IBD: 76 — with Crohn’s disease (CD), 71 — with ulcerative colitis (UC). The complex of treatment for patients (16 with CD, 11 with UC) included HBO therapy, which was carried out in a single air-oxygen pressure chamber «BaroOx 1.0». The course consisted of 5–8 daily sessions in the 1.3–1.4 atm regime for 40 minutes. The number of platelets and blood cell indices in all patients were determined: MCV, RDW, MCH, MCHC, MPV, PDW.

Results. IBD in children is characterized by a significant increase in platelet count, a decrease in MCV and MPV, and an increase in RDW and PDW. The use of HBO in IBD treatment promotes an increase in MCV, MCHS and a tendency to decrease the number of platelets.

Conclusion. The patterns of changes in the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of blood cells that we have established indicate that the use of HBO to the standard treatment protocol for IBD in children contributes to the correction of the identified disorders.

Contribution:
Popovicheva A.N. — writing the text, concept and design of the study;
Popovicheva A.N., Fedulova E.N., Neshetkina I.A., Zagrekov V.I. — collection and processing of the material;
Martusevich A.K. — editing.
All co-authors — Approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all its parts.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: December 03, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021

Introduction. Currently, in pediatric practice, there are no clear data on the features of the onset of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), the frequency of detection of markers of cytolysis and cholestasis, the nature of the lesion of the hepatobiliary system and changes in the endoscopic picture.

Purpose: assessment of clinical, laboratory, and instrumental features of PSC course in IBD children (PSC+IBD).

Materials and methods. For the period 2015–2021, a comprehensive examination of 54 children with PSC+IBD (main group) and 79 patients with isolated IBD (comparison group): ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD) was carried out.

Results. In 54 children of the main group, the combination of PSC+UC was detected in 48 (88.9%) patients with a predominance of boys. At the onset of the disease, the most frequent manifestations in children with PSC+IBD were diarrhea, abdominal pain syndrome, cytolysis and cholestasis syndromes, and hemocolitis. In children with PSC+IBD, compared with patients with IBD, there was a statistically significant increase in serum concentrations of ALT, AST and total protein, indicating an increase in hepatitis activity; GGT, alkaline phosphatase and direct bilirubin — about an increase in the severity of cholestasis syndrome; IgG — as a marker of the severity of mesenchymal-inflammatory syndrome in the framework of liver damage. According to the endoscopic data, with PSC+UC, pancolitis with more pronounced involvement of the right colon or isolated proctitis prevails, and with PSC+CD, ileocolitis is more common. Indices PUCAI (p < 0.001) and PCDAI (p = 0.027) were statistically significantly lower in the PSC+IBD group than in the isolated IBD. According to the data of transient liver elastometry, no statistically significant difference was obtained between the medians of the parameters of the biochemical blood test at different stages of fibrosis. According to the results of magnetic resonance imaging of the abdominal organs and MR-cholangiopancreatography, the most characteristic changes in PSC+IBD are heterogeneity of the liver parenchyma, unevenness of the intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts, the presence of areas of expansion and narrowing of their diameter.

Conclusions. The phenotype of PSC+IBD in children is manifested mainly by intestinal symptoms, more often UC with involvement of the right parts of the intestine in boys and a lower activity index than the isolated course of IBD, in combination with laboratory syndromes and cholestasis.

Contribution:
Usoltseva O.V., Surkov A.N., Movsisyan G.B. — research concept and design, text writing;
Usoltseva O.V., Movsisyan G.B., Kulebina E.A., Simerzina S.A. — collection and processing of material;
Usoltseva O.V., Movsisyan G.B. — statistical processing;
Surkov A.N., Movsisyan G.B., Potapov A.S., Lokhmatov M.M. — editing.
Usoltseva O.V., Surkov A.N., Movsisyan G.B. — approval of the final version of Informed consent.

Informed consent was received from the patients’ parents for the participation of a study.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: November 29, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021

Introduction. The peculiarity of this work is to determine the prevalence of bronchial asthma (BA) in children and the risk factors for its development in Mongolia. This country is intensively developing economically and is at the stage of transition to an industrial society, which allows assessing the impact of environmental and population changes on the frequency of BA formation.

The aim of the work is to determine the prevalence and risk factors for the development of BA in children of Mongolia.

Materials and methods. The prevalence of BA and data on patients aged from birth to 19 years living in Ulaanbaatar, 17 aimags and six districts of Mongolia were studied using a modified written questionnaire. To determine the prevalence of BA, we surveyed parents and 1,779 BA children patients. Information on biomedical and socio-hygienic risk factors for the development of BA in children of Mongolia was obtained after analyzing the data of a special questionnaire from 1,507 schoolchildren. All the received data are processed statistically.

Results. The prevalence of BA in children of Mongolia was found to account for 11 per 1,000 children. The highest incidence of BA in children was found mainly in the northern regions of Mongolia, with a sharply continental climate and high air pollution. Among the risk factors for the formation of BA in children, the most significant are burdened heredity, smoking, unfavourable living conditions, pregnancy pathology, Breastfeeding disorders in the newborn period, irrational nutrition of the child, acute respiratory infections. In 50% of BA patients, a significant increase in eosinophils was revealed. 61.2% of patients had an increased level of IgE. Regardless of the region of residence of BA children, polyvalent pollen sensitization was the most frequent — 59.3%, food allergy — 55.5%, epidermal allergy — 38.3% of cases, household (8.3%) and fungal sensitization (5%) were rarely detected. Treatment of 89 BA children in the National Center for Maternal and Child Health hospital under the Global Initiative for Asthma strategy helped improve patients’ condition.

Contribution:
Tsevegmid U., Solongo O. — research concept and design of the study;
Narmandakh J., Undrah A., Oyunchimeg A., Gerelmaa N. — collection and processing of material;
Oyunchimeg A., Nasantogtoh E. — statistical processing;
Tsevegmid U., Nasantogtoh E. — text writing;
Tsevegmid U. — editing.
All coauthors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: December 16, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021

Quality of life is an essential component of information about children with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders. The purpose of the present study was to assess the quality of life of children with this pathology.

Materials and methods. Fifty-two 5–6 year patients with autism spectrum disorders were examined at the clinical and diagnostic centre of the Federal State Autonomous Institution «National Medical Research Center for Children’s Health» of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The comparison group was fifty-one healthy children matched for age and gender. Quality of life was assessed by interviewing patient parents using the Russian-language version for 5–12 years children of the Health Utilities Index (HUI). Statistical analysis was performed using the «SPSS v.26.0» («StatSoft Inc.»).

Results. The quality of life of children with autism spectrum disorders turned out to be significantly lower than the scores of healthy children due to the aspects of «Speech», «Cognition», «Emotion». At the same time, parents of patients were less likely to note the presence of pain. Levels of disability categories are determined for each attribute of quality of life.

Conclusion. Presented features of violations of quality of life in children with autism spectrum disorders allow suggesting a complete picture of the disorders to improve the medical care of these patients.

Contribution:
Vinyarskaya I.V., Kuzenkova L.M. — concept and design of the study;
Lashkova А.V. — collection and processing of material;
Chernikov V.V., Terletskaya R.N. — statistical processing;
Vinyarskaya I.V., Lashkova А.V. — writing of the text;
Antonova E.V. — editing.
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received:  November 22, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021

Introduction. Thrombosis in children and adults is believed to be always multifactorial and caused by a combination of permanent and temporary thrombogenic risk factors. Carriage of hereditary or life-long thrombogenic risk factors accompanying a person, causing a tendency to occur arterial and venous thrombosis is a critical problem, but little studied in paediatrics.

Materials and methods. A genetic study of twelve prothrombotic polymorphic variants of candidate genes was carried out at the Health Centre. Three hundred 96 children were examined; 177 (43.3%) were boys, and 219 (56.7%) were girls. The average age of the patients was 15.6 ± 1.8 years. The main group of children with thrombogenic risk factors consisted of 27 cases, including ten boys and 17 girls. The comparison group consisted of 396 adolescents, including 167 boys and 202 girls.

Results. The study of genetic polymorphisms of the genes of blood clotting factors and genes of folate metabolism in the work of the Health Centre revealed the prevalence of the A2756G allele of the MTR gene (p = 0.032) and the C1565 allele of the ITGB3 gene (p = 0.012) in the population of girls to be statistically significantly higher than in boys. The proportion of the 4G allele (-675) of the PAI-1 gene (p = 0.028) was also determined to be significantly more often detected in boys, while the proportion of the 5G allele of the PAI-1 gene (p = 0.032) was found with a higher frequency in girls. The distribution of allele and genotype frequencies in the studied genes of blood coagulation factors and folate metabolism were checked for compliance with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The group of children with thrombogenic risk factors included 27 patients. In children of this group, in 64.3% of cases, a mutation of the GA genotype of the factor V Leiden gene was detected, and 37.5% of children were with compounds from the homozygous TT allele of the C677T MTHFR genotype and the homozygous AA allele of the G(-455)A genotype of the fibrinogen FBG gene.

Conclusion. With the introduction of personalized prophylaxis in the thrombogenic risk group based on the children’s health centre, thrombogenic complications can be successfully prevented.

Contribution:
Elizarieva L.A., Galaktionova M.Yu., Strozenko L.A. — concept and design of the study;
Elizarieva L.A., Lobanov Yu.F. — collection and processing of material;
Strozenko L.A. — statistical processing of the material;
Elizarieva L.A., Strozenko L.A., Lobanov Yu.F. — writing the text;
Miller V.E., Strozenko L.A., Galaktionova M.Yu. — editing the text.
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: November 23, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021

Vaccination is one of the essential areas of preventive medicine for protecting the population from diseases and infections. They have helped reduce the incidence of severe childhood diseases and, in some cases, have even eradicated some of the world’s infectious diseases. However, since the first available vaccine against smallpox, antivaccine prophylaxis has always accompanied an antivaccine movement based on various myths. More recently, the development of this movement is connected for many reasons. First of all, it is associated with forgetting the world’s population of the severity of many infectious diseases, the consequences of epidemics, and the availability of any information on the Internet. Leading to myths, parents refuse to vaccinate their children, resulting in reduced vaccination coverage, reduced collective immunity and outbreaks of diseases that have already been considered conquered. The article reviews the literature on the results of anti-vaccination research conducted in the Russian Federation and abroad concerning the causes, main postulates of this movement, trends and directions. Scientific evidence is presented that disproves anti-vaccination myths, and the primary arguments for vaccination are presented. The article describes the anti-vaccination movement’s worldwide trend and the Russian features. The position of WHO is presented about overcoming barriers to the adoption and use of vaccines.

Contribution:
Galitskaya M.G., Tatochenko V.K., Fisenko A.P. — the concept and design of the study;
Galitskaya M.G., Yasakov D.S., Kurdup M.K. — collection and processing of material;
Galitskaya M.G. — writing text;
Fisenko A.P., Davydova I.V., Makarova S.G., Tatochenko V.K. — editing.
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all its parts.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: December 03, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021

Cerebral palsy is characterized by non-progressive brain damage but a progressive cascade of secondary diseases of the musculoskeletal system. The characteristic changes in the infantile cerebral palsy lead to dysfunction of the ankle, knee and hip joints, which affects the biomechanics of walking and leads to the pathological transformation.

Purpose: to determine the effect of the Exobot simulator on the walking biomechanics of children with cerebral palsy. The review compares the normal and pathological biomechanics of walking in children with cerebral palsy, starting from the Amsterdam classification of pathological gait, which includes five types depending on the position of the knee joint and foot concerning the horizontal surface mid-support phase. Despite the child’s level with cerebral palsy according to the classification of global motor functions and the type of gait according to the Amsterdam classification, all children in the contact phase begin contact not from the heel but the forefoot. This entails a deterioration in the control of the trunk balance and an increase in the energy consumption for verticalization. The gait of a child with cerebral palsy in the  Exobot simulator, due to the fixation of the foot, ankle joint and the system of carabiners and elastic rods, always begins from the heel.

Thus, the correct step pattern and muscle memory are formed in a child with cerebral palsy. There is an improvement in the control over the balance on the part of the child, his motivation for motor development increases.

Contribution:
Tabe E.E.  — collection and processing of material, writing text;
Sharkov S.M. — editing.
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: November 23, 2021
Accepted: December 17, 2021
Published: December 29, 2021