MW was responsible for data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, and preparation of the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to (and agreed upon) the final version. HS has participated as a clinical investigator, and/or advisory board member, and/or consultant, and/or speaker for Arla, Biogaia, Biocodex, Danone, Dicofarm, Hipp,

Nestle, Nestle Nutrition Institute, Nutricia, Mead Johnson, Merck, and Sequoia. MW declared no conflict of interest with regard to this manuscript. This study was funded in full by The Medical MK-2206 mouse University of Warsaw. The work described in this article has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans; EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal

experiments; Uniform Requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical journals. “
“Febrile convulsion is the most common type of seizure during childhood and has a prevalence of 2–4% in different societies. PS-341 purchase Febrile convulsion usually occurs in 9 month to 10-year-old children, reaching its peak incidence at 14–18 months of age [1], [2] and [3]. Although its mortality and morbidity rates are low, but many parents are concerned about the recurrence of seizures [1], [2] and [3]. The cause and pathophysiology of febrile convulsions are not fully understood. Genetic studies have shown a relation between the genes on chromosomes 8 and 19 and susceptibility to this entity [2]. Some studies have assessed the effect of microelements deficiency, and recently a few studies such as one performed in Iran have focused on iron deficiency, and have recommended the use of iron supplements [4], [5] and [6]. Two recent studies in Iran and Thailand mentioned a lower frequency of febrile convulsions in patients with major thalassemia [7] and [8]. In patients who have thalassemia major, iron is accumulated in the body as a result of ineffective erythropoiesis and frequent blood transfusions.

A few studies had reported lower incidence of febrile seizures in children with major thalassemia; therefore, iron accumulation might have a protective or preventive role in the occurrence of febrile convulsions in patients with major thalassemia [7]. In one study in Thailand on 430 patients with thalassemia Staurosporine aged 6 months to 10 years, the researchers found that the frequency of febrile convulsion was 4.4 times lower in children with thalassemia compared with the general population. In the mentioned study, the annual incidence of febrile convulsion was 1.1/1000 individuals in patients with thalassemia, compared with 4.8 in the normal population [7]. In a study performed in Iran comparing patients with febrile convulsion and febrile patients without convulsion, no significant association was found between anemia and the incidence of febrile convulsions [9].