Current issue “Postępy Nauk Medycznych” has been prepared by pediatricians from Medical University of Silesia, Department of Pediatrics and Silesian Children’s Hospitals.

It includes clinical studies, inter alia, concerning one of the most common causes of hospitalization – rotavirus diarrhea and presenting differences in its clinical course according to the age of the patient (1).

While searching for the cause or maybe effects of intestinal permeability changes in children with inflammatory bowel disease behavior of zonulin, a marker which is involved in relaxation of the so-called „tight junction” in the intestinal mucosa, was examined. In the work titled “Evaluation of intestinal permeability on the basis of zonulin levels in children with IBD” authors from the Department of Pediatrics pointed out the possibility of using measurement of zonulin levels in the evaluation of disorders of the intestinal mucosa as a non-invasive biomarker of damage to the intestinal mucosa (2).

Lipid disorders in nephrotic syndrome are not fully recognized: attempted to be applied to the behavior of the concentration of carnitine, a substance involved in beta-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids in the acute phase of the disease and remission. The results are presented in the work “Carnitine concentration levels in the serum of children with nephrotic syndrome” (3).

Helicobacter pylori infection is the most common cause of gastritis, and occur symptoms of abdominal pain and also causes feeding problems leading to nutritional disorders. Authors of work titled “If the Helicobacter pylori infection may affect ghrelin secretion in children” demonstrated that mucosal inflammation due to infection does not affect the secretion of ghrelin (4).

Problem of headaches in children is the most common cause of medical consultations and hospitalizations. The authors – doctors of the Department of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology tried to determine if the proportions of particular types of headaches have changed during the 10-year work of the Department (5). Increased incidence of primary headaches (especially migraine and tension headache) was associated with unfavorable changes in the modern lifestyle, a higher level of stress with which the children cannot cope with. However, despite the decrease in the number of children with secondary headaches, they suggest to improve the outpatient diagnostics through postgraduate training of physicians which will result in reduction of hospitalizations.

Two further works prepared by the Pediatric Center in Chorzow describe a new approach to kidney failure in rheumatic diseases.

Description of ineffective, aggressive immunosuppressive therapy, biological therapy and plasmapheresis in the treatment of juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus indicates that despite the knowledge of the pathophysiological basis and the use of aggressive therapy results of treatment were not significantly improved. Author of the work, citing the findings of other authors, wonders if the unsatisfactory results are consequence of progression of disease and the accumulation of iatrogenic action of aggressive long-term treatment (6).

Lidia Hyla-Klekot, MD, PhD in the review “Differences in pathophysiological conditions of the clinical picture and treatments of juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus” presented progress in diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus with particular attention to the problems of nephropathy, including differences in the pediatric lupus (7).

Most surprising to me is the work prepared by a team of urologists and surgeons from the Department of Pediatric Surgery, showing that the appendix, which is widely regarded as redundant organ of the body, may be useful (8).