Mitral stenosis in a girl of five years

Mitral stenosis(MS) detected below the age of 20 years is called juvenile mitral stenosis (JMS). JMS constitute 25-40 % of all cases of isolated mitral stenosis, though overall incidence of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) within mixed population is 7.5- 7.8 per thousand. The patient was 5 years old girl hailing from Modhupur, Tangail got herself admitted into CCU Mymensingh Medical College Hospital with the complaints of low grade fever, shortness of breath and also associated with failure to thrive. She was ill looking, mildly anaemic. Precordial examination revealed apex beat was in the left 5th intercostals space, tapping in nature, palpable P(2). There was left parasternal heave. 1st heart sound loud, pulmonary component of the 2nd heart sound was accentuated, opening snap with mid diastolic murmur with pre systolic accentuation. Routine blood examination reveals leucocytosis with raised ESR. C-reactive protein (CRP) and ASO titre were significantly raised. X-ray chest P/A view showing the features of mitral stenosis. Echocardiography showing MS (moderate) with pulmonary hypertension. She was treated with antibiotics and other relevant drugs and discharge with an advice for follow up and take preparation for cardiac intervention.

Reversion of molecularly engineered, partially attenuated, very virulent infectious bursal disease virus during infection of commercial chickens

A molecularly cloned, tissue culture-adapted infectious bursal disease virus (BD-3tc) was generated from a very virulent strain by the reverse genetics approach following site-directed mutagenesis (Q253H and A284T in VP2). The pathogenicity of BD-3tc was tested in commercial chickens. The wild-type strain (BD-3wt) and the molecularly cloned parental strain (BD-3mc) were included for comparison. The subclinical course of the disease, with delayed and milder pathological lesions followed by quick follicular regeneration in the bursa of Fabricius in BD-3tc-inoculated birds, suggested that these amino acid substitutions made BD-3tc partially attenuated. However, severe bursa atrophy was observed at 14 days after inoculation. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction coupled with restriction enzyme analysis revealed that both point mutations in BD-3tc had reverted 14 days after inoculation. Further investigations demonstrated that the codon for amino acid at position 284 had already reverted to the wild-type phenotype (T284A) 3 days after inoculation.

Pattern of change of weight following birth in the early neonatal period

Birth weight of new born will vary according to gestational age, maternal, Placental and foetal intrauterine conditions. Postnatal weight change in the first few days of life (early neonatal period) may vary according to gestational age and birth weight. This may create problem in management of these babies. Birth weight and their pattern of change were followed on 105 newborns. Questionnaire and observation charts were the research Instruments and statistical analysis were done by using manual calculator. It was observed that full term newborns had better control on initial weight change following birth than preterm and low birth weight babies. Majority of term newborns loss their weight up to 5 days of life and regained their initial weight by 10 days. Maximum weight loss for longer duration occurred in preterm and very low birth weight babies who regained their initial weight by 10 - 14 days and some required more than 21 days.

Rapid immunodiagnosis of active cytomegalovirus infection by pp65 antigenemia assay

Detection of early antigen PP65 in blood leucocytes is a new method of diagnosing active cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Using a mixture of two monoclonal antibodies, CMV pp65 antigen was detected in blood leucocytes by a quantitative indirect immunofluorescence test within 3-5 hours after sampling. The pp65 antigen was detected in 20(29.8%) of the 67 immunocompromised patients included in this study. The level of CMV antigenemia appears to be related to the severity of CMV infection. Thus, this method may provide a rapid and sensitive approach to early diagnosis of active CMV infection in immunocompromised patients and a promising marker for initiating therapy and monitoring disease activity and its response to therapy.

Electrophoretic patterns of human rotavirus strains prevailing among hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and silver staining was applied to detect rotavirus dsRNA from acute diarrheic stool of 365 hospitalized children below 5 years of age. The study was conducted at Mymensingh and Sunamgonj districts, Bangladesh from January 2002 to February 2003. Among 345 stool specimens tested, 86 (24.9%) were positive by PAGE. The rate of infection was highest in 0-12 months of age and declined significantly with increasing age. Males were slightly more infected than females and infection rate was more in winter. Twelve different electropherotypes were identified, of them eight were long and four were short. RNA profiles of the analyzed specimens, 88.6% were long and 11.4% were short patterns. Two of these long patterns (2F N 1 L, 2F N 3(U) L) circulated through out the study period and a single type was predominant (2F N 1 L). Mixed electropherotypes were also detected. Electropherotyping technique can be applied routinely to study the prevalence and epidemiological features of rotavirus infection. It is an excellent method for studying genomic variation, tracing mixed infections, detecting atypical rotaviruses lacking group-antigen and characterizing virus strains in outbreaks.

T-cell sensitisation to hepatitis B virus surface antigens

The present study was conducted to explore the immunity to hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg) of ad and ay subtypes at the cellular level among adult individuals. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected patients, chronic HBV infected patients, recovered subjects from HBV infection and uninfected vaccinated controls were stimulated with HBsAg ad and HBsAg ay subtypes in vitro. Stimulated PBMCs were incubated in CO(2) for production of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), which was measured from the supernatant of cultured PBMCs by an in-house ELISA technique. The mean +/- SE of IFN-gamma levels produced by PBMCs in response to HBsAg ad among the acute, chronic, recovered and control groups were 282.5+/-134.51 pg/ml, 307.45+/-94.84 pg/ml, 915.62+/-170.80 pg/ml and 511.67+/-161.22 pg/ml respectively, while on stimulation by HBsAg ay, the levels were 246.25+/-103.50 pg/ml, 374.70+/-104.02 pg/ml, 1040 +/-140.76 pg/ml and 465.83+/-166.26 pg/ml respectively among the above mentioned groups. The results of this study showed that PBMCs were non-responsive to stimulation by both HBsAg ad and HBsAg ay subtypes in acute and chronic patients with HBV infection. The recovered group responded significantly to both subtypes of HBsAg and the control group did not. The study indicates that although the patients with acute and chronic HBV infection showed weak or no IFN-gamma response to the HBsAg, subjects showed strong IFN-gamma response to the surface antigens on recovery from HBV infection.

Xerophthalmia: a study among malnourished children of West Mednipur District

To study the correlation of stages of xerophthalmia in different grades of malnutrition, having 200 children clinically diagnosed having malnutrition as per criteria laid down by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) were examined to detect the dinical stages of xerophthalmia as proposed by World Health Organisation (WHO). Out of 200 cases with different grades of malnutrition 81 (40.5%), 78 (39.0%), 22 (11.0%) and 19 (9.5%) were found malnourished in grades I, II, III, and IV respectively. Night blindness was earliest feature and seen in 97 cases (48.5%). All the 97 cases of night blindness fell in group of X(N) in which one case had corneal scar and falls in the group of X(S) in clinical staging of xerophthalmia. Thirty-nine (40.2%), 35 (36.1%), 19 (19.6%), 3 (3.1%) and (1.1%) were in clinical stages of xerophthalmia of X(1A), X(1B), X2, X(3A), X(3B)respectively. Severity of xerophthalmia was found directly proportional to severity of malnutrition.

Topography and morphometry of the common bile duct and major duodenal papilla of man and principal domesticated animals

A comparative topography and morphometry of the common bile duct and major duodenal papilla was studied on the extrahepatic biliary apparatus of human and major domesticated animals such as horse, ox, Black Bengal (BB) goat, sheep, dog and cat of local breed. In Black Bengal goat, sheep, dog and cat, the extrahepatic biliary system seemed to be the continuation of the cystic duct, which was found to continue as the common hepatic/common bile duct into which all the hepatic/lobar ducts open. In man, the mean length and the mean diameter of the common bile duct were 7.67+/-0.58 cm. and 7.27+/-0.77 mm. respectively. In the ox, these values were 1.57+/-0.72 cm. and 11.82+/-0.79 mm. respectively; in the Black Bengal goat, 7.23+/-0.74 cm. and 4.45+/-0.72 mm. respectively; in the sheep, 5.27+/-0.66 cm. and 3.75+/-0.79 mm. respectively; in the dog, 4.72+/-0.67 cm. and 6.43+/-0.55 mm. respectively and in the cat, 3.26+/-0.87 cm. and 5.63+/-0.43 mm. respectively. In man, the mean length and the mean diameter at the base of the MDP were 4.37+/-0.56 mm. and 3.97+/-0.72 mm. respectively. In horse, these were 52.36+/-0.67 mm. and 12.47+/-0.63 mm. respectively; in ox, 12.53+/-0.73 mm. and 8.83+/-0.68 mm. respectively; in Black Bengal goat, 14.36+/-0.55 mm. and 5.23+/-0.57 mm. respectively; in sheep, 11.27+/-0.69 mm. and 4.51+/-0.74 mm. respectively; in dog, 17.43+/-0.82 mm. and 6.72+/-0.64 mm. respectively and in cat, these values were 12.36+/-0.47 mm. and 7.12+/-0.87 mm. The distance of the Major Duodenal Papilla (MDP) form the pyloric end of the stomach was proportionately shorter in the meat-eaters, i.e., the omnivorous man (9.76+/-0.88 cm), and the carnivores, dog (6.37+/-0.73 cm) and cat (2.75+/-0.87 cm.) when compared to that of the herbivores, i.e., ox (55.37+/-0.68 cm.), BB goat (23.27+/-0.89 cm.) and sheep (25.62+/-0.77 cm.). In the horse, the major duodenal papilla was perpendicular to the duodenal mucosal surface with the largest mean length and the mean diameter. In all other animals, it was obliquely placed on the duodenal surface with its opening directed aborally.

Effects of prolonged use of injectable hormonal contraceptive on serum lipid profile

The current study was carried out to determine serum levels of total cholesterol, triacylglycerol (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in human female volunteers taking injectable hormonal contraceptives. For this purpose, 200 (two hundred) subjects with age range of 20-35 years were selected. Out of them, 140 (one hundred and forty) were experimental subjects and 60 (sixty) were control. Women without hormonal contraceptive were selected as the subjects of control group. The experimental subjects were taking injectable hormonal contraceptive, DMPA (depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate) for 3-5 years uninterruptedly. The mean serum total cholesterol and mean serum triacylglycerol levels of the DMPA users were significantly (P<O.05 and P<0.01 respectively) elevated in comparison to that of the non-users. The mean serum HDL-cholesterol was decreased in subjects using DMPA in comparison to that of the control group. But the decrease was not significant (P>0.05). The mean serum LDL-cholesterol level of the subjects of DMPA users was significantly (P<0.05) elevated in comparison to that of the control.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) response to different hepatitis B virus antigens in hepatitis B virus infection

The IFN-gamma levels in serum and cultured supernatant of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were compared after stimulation by HBsAg ad, HBsAg ay and HBcAg among 3 groups of subjects i.e. patients with acute HBV infection, patients with chronic HBV infection and subjects recovered from HBV infection. Uninfected vaccinated group was taken as control. Serum and PBMCs were obtained from 38 individuals between 18-50 years of age. PBMCs were separated from heparinised blood by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation technique and cultured in CO2 incubator after stimulation by HBV surface and core antigens. IFN-gamma concentration was measured in serum and culture supernatant of PBMCs by an in-house ELISA technique. The mean serum IFN-gamma levels in acute, chronic, recovered and control groups were 88 pg/ml, 96.6 pg/ml, 155 pg/ml and 205 pg/ml respectively. On stimulation by HBsAg ad, IFN-gamma levels in cultured PBMCs of the above mentioned groups were 282.50 pg/ml, 307.45 pg/ml, 915.62 pg/ml and 511.67 pg/ml respectively, while in the same group on HBsAg ay stimulation, IFN-gamma levels were 246.25 pg/ml, 374.70 pg/ml, 1040 pg/ml and 465.83 pg/ml respectively. On stimulation by HBcAg, the IFN-gamma levels were 875 pg/ml, 128.50 pg/ml, 905 pg/ml and 235.33 pg/ml respectively in the acute, chronic, recovered and control groups. When compared with serum, significantly higher levels of IFN-gamma in cultured supernatant of PBMCs were observed after stimulation by HBsAg ad and HBsAg ay subtype in cases of chronic (p<0.05) and recovered groups (p<0.01 and p<0.001 respectively). However, no statistically significant difference of IFN-gamma level was observed between serum and PBMCs amongst the acute and control groups when stimulated by either of the HBsAg subtypes or HBcAg. In the recovered group, IFN-gamma levels produced by PBMCs after stimulation by HBcAg were significantly higher than that of serum (p<0.01). The study concludes that on subsequent exposure, PBMCs of the recovered group produces higher levels of IFN-gamma in response to different hepatitis B antigens. This response perhaps is able to protect individuals who are unable to develop anti-HBs.

Iron status and infants feeding practice in children with anaemia

A cross sectional study was carried out in the then IPGM&R now (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh) to detect the pattern of feeding practice among the anemic children who were below 2 years of age and to find out a relationship between feeding practice and iron status. Hemoglobin was measured on finger prick blood samples using Haemoglobinometer. A peripheral blood film, and serum-ferritin was estimated by micro particle enzyme-immonoassay (MEIA). A dietary questionnaire was completed with particular emphasis on the type of feeding, breast and formula and at which age the weaning was introduced. 140 clinically suspected anemic patients were selected randomly for this study. Among them 111 (79.3%) patient had hemoglobin value ranging between 7.2-6.4 gm and their serum-ferritin level at or below 12 ngm/ml. It was observed that female children were predominantly affected and incidentally all patients were malnourished. In this study it was found that babies with an exclusive diet of breast milk were mildly anemic and not deficient in iron. On the contrary infants with mixed feeding habits or prolonged breast-feeding without weaning at all or babies devoid of any breast milk had moderate to severe anaemia and all were deficient in iron.

A study on interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) response by T cells stimulated by hepatitis B virus core antigen

Cell-mediated immune response by lymphocyte induced through recognition of HBV core antigen during acute HBV infection, chronic HBV infection and in subjects recovered from HBV infection was investigated in the present study by assessing the competence of IFN-gamma secretion by cultured PBMCs on stimulation by HBV nucleocapsid antigen (HBcAg). Fresh blood was collected in heparin from acute, chronic and recovered groups of HBV infected patients and uninfected vaccinated healthy controls aged between 18-50 years. PBMCs were separated by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation technique and were stimulated with hepatitis B virus core antigen (HBcAg) and mitogen (lectin). Stimulated PBMCs were cultured in CO2 and IFN-gamma levels were measured from the culture supernatant by an in-house ELISA technique. The mean+/-SE levels of IFN-gamma in HBcAg stimulated PBMCs in acute, chronic, recovered and controls groups were 875 pg/ml+/-297.56, 128.50 pg/ml+/-33.66, 905 pg/ml+/-172.51 and 235.33 pg/ml+/-111.28 respectively. IFN-gamma levels produced by HBcAg stimulated PBMCs of acute and recovered groups were significantly higher than that of chronic and control group (p<0.001). All groups responded strongly to lectin stimulation. Thus, it may be concluded that patients with acute HBV infection and those who had recovered from HBV infection show vigorous response to HBcAg stimulation in contrast to patients with chronic HBV infection.

The fuel properties of pyrolysis liquid derived from urban solid wastes in Bangladesh

Urban solid wastes in the form of scrap tyre, waste plastic and waste paper, were pyrolyzed in an externally heated fixed bed reactor. The condensed liquids were analyzed for their properties as fuels and compared with petroleum-derived products. The properties were physical properties, higher heating value, elemental (CHNOS) analysis and chemical composition using Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results showed that the pyrolysis of urban solid wastes may be a potential source of liquid hydrocarbon fuel.

Ciliary staphyloma: very rare sequelae of conjunctival rhinosporiodosis

The main ocular manifestation of rhinosporiosis is lid or conjunctival infection. Conjunctival rhinosporiodosis is very rately causing sclera necrosis. A patient named Shumi (8 years), D/O.- Rukan Uddin of Rupchandrapur, Atpara, Netrokona admitted on 09/03/2003 in the department of Ophtalmology, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital with complains of mass in right eye looks externally like a growth in upper lid and mild dimness of vision of right eye. On examination, it was found that she got VAR : 6/24 and having a shaphyloma near 12-00 O'clock position with a mass adjacent to it which was identified as rhinosporiodosis after excisional biopsy. No history of ocular trauma or any other ocular disease was found.

Resistance pattern of bacteria isolated from acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) cases

Out of 350 acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) patients 110 (31.4%) were positive on culture. Among then (35.5%) yielded from upper respiratory tract infection (URI) and 64.5% yielded from lower respiratory tract infection (LRI). Predominant bacterial isolates from URI were Staph aureus (12.4%) and Strepto. pyogen (9.8%) whereas predominant agent from LRI were Strepto. pneumoniae (14.7%) and Haemophilus influenzae (8.6%). Capsular typing by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and type specific antisera revealed that 64.7% of the isolates were type-b and rest were non-b. The most frequent resistance pattern of H. influenzae was found resistant to penicillin-ampicillin (64.7%) followed by SMX-TMP (14.7%) and tetracycline (5.9%). Among penicillin-ampicillin resistant strains, 81.8% were beta lectamase positive and 18.2% were beta lectamase negative. Among beta lectamase positive strains 66.7% were capsular type-b and 33.3% were non-b, had MICS < or = 8 microgram/ml. and < or = 4 microgram/ml. respectively. 5.9% strains of Strepto. pneumoniae was found resistant to SMX-TMP, 5.9% to penicillin-ampicillin and 2.9% to cephalexin. Common resistance pattern of Staph aureus was penicillin-ampicillin (60%), SMX-TMP (37.2%) and tetracycline-erythromycine-cephalexin (11.4%). Strepto. pyogen was found resistant to tetracycline in 12.2% cases and to SMX-TMP in 8.3% cases.

Isolation and serotyping of dengue viruses by mosquito inoculation technique from clinically suspected cases of dengue fever

Dengue virus was isolated from 44 clinically suspected cases of dengue fever by mosquito inoculation technique using Aedes aegypti mosquito in the department of virology, BSMMU in the year 2000. Identification of dengue virus was done by direct fluorescent antibody technique using FITC conjugated anti-dengue monoclonal antibody and serotyping was carried out by indirect fluorescent antibody technique using serotype specific monoclonal anti-dengue antibody. The dengue virus isolation rate was 41.9%. The result of serotyping revealed circulation of all four serotypes of dengue viruses in Dhaka, Bangladesh and DEN-3 was the predominant (70.5%) serotype during the outbreak in 2000. The rate of isolation was higher in patient's serum at an early stage of fever (p<0.01) and with higher body temperature (p<0.01). The rate of isolation was 77.77% in patient's serum collected on the 1st day of fever, and then the rate gradually declined and lowest (16.6%) on the 5th day of fever. The mosquito inoculation technique is an easy, economical and sensitive method for dengue virus isolation and is recommended for routine virological surveillance in laboratories of Bangladesh where sophisticated facilities are limited.

Estimation of mean age at first marriage: use of a simple mathematical model

"The present paper is an attempt to introduce a simple mathematical model to describe the age pattern of proportion never married women. The underlying model was found to give fairly close fit to an observed set of data of some 17 WFS [World Fertility Survey] countries. A mathematical formulation was then suggested in terms of the parameters in the model to estimate the mean age at first marriage. The mean ages obtained under the approach agreed quite closely with those obtained by Hajnal's method. The agreement between the estimates of ever married proportions obtained by the suggested model and...Coale's nuptiality model appeared also to be satisfactory."

Dietary fibre and coronary heart disease

Intake of dietary fibres lowers plasma lipids. Fibres particularly soluble ones lower serum total cholesterol (TC) and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) without significant alteration in serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triacylglyccrol (TG). Consequently, the incidence of atherosclerotic heart diseases is lower in those who take high dietary fibre. Persons taking diet rich in saturated fat and poor in dietary fibre is more prone to develop coronary artery diseases. Dietary fibres also lower TC: HDL-C and LDL-C: HDL-C ratios. Higher TC: HDL-C and LDL-C: HDL-C ratios are in favour of development and progression of atherosclerotic vascular diseases, a pioneer cause of myocardial infarction (MI).

Incidence and prognostic significance of right bundle branch block complicating acute myocardial infarction

The incidence and hospital courseofacute myocardial infarction wereobserved among randomly selected 560 patients. The mean age of the patients was 53 +/- 6.67 years with male-female ratio 2.6:1. The incidence of right bundle branch block (RBBB) was 15% (84 out of 560 patients). New RBBB, old RBBB and RBBB of indeterminate age were observed in 33 (39.25%), 23 (27.40%) and 28 (33.25%) cases respectively. RBBB was isolated in 50 (60%) cases and bi-fascicular in remaining 34 (40%) cases. The rate of use of thrombolytic was greater in RBBB group than non-RBBB group (52% vs 30.67%, P < 0.05). The complications were more frequently observed in patients with RBBB: in-hospital mortality, 27.40% vs 10.90% (P < 0.01); use of temporary pacemaker, 15% vs 9% (P < 0.05); and heart failure, 50% vs 35% (P < 0.05). In sub-group analysis, in-hospital mortality rate was higher among bi-fascicular group than isolated RBBB group (P < 0.05). Thus it appeared from the results that the incidence of RBBB is relatively common i.e. 15% over all (84 out of 560) and 5.90% new (33 out of 560) and despite greater use of thrombolytics, some specific in-hospital complications were significantly higher in patients with RBBB than without, RBBB.

Study of natural radionuclide concentrations in an area of elevated radiation background in the northern districts of Bangladesh

The activity concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials in soil samples from an elevated radiation background area of three northern districts of Bangladesh were determined using gamma ray spectrometry. The outdoor and indoor external effective dose rates and the radiation hazard indices from these soil activities were evaluated. The dose rates were found to be about four times higher than the reported world average value. The concentration of natural radionuclides, derived radium equivalent activities and the representative level indices were also found to be higher. Recommendations on radiological and dosimetric measures have been suggested with an aim of minimising the harmful effects of ionising radiation to the population of the area concerned.

The fibrillar structure of the cemento-dentinal junction in different kinds of human teeth

The cemento-dentinal junction was examined in human maxillary incisors, canines and premolars by scanning electron microscopy combined with NaOH maceration. The NaOH maceration was used to remove interfibrillar substances and to observe details of the fibrillar architecture. The teeth were half-sectioned longitudinally, demineralized and macerated for 3-4 days or for 10-14 days. In the 3-4 day-macerated specimens, longitudinal sections of the cemento-dentinal junction were examined. In the 10-14 day-macerated specimens, the cementum was detached and the inner cementum surface facing the cemento-dentinal junction was examined. Observations suggested that cemental fibrils intermingle with dentinal fibrils only in places at the cemento-dentinal junction in both acellular and cellular cementum. These structural features were consistent in all kinds of teeth investigated here. Using human molars, we have previously proposed that the adhesion of proteoglycans is a main factor for the cemento-dentinal attachment and that the fibril intermingling between dentin and cementum is an accessory or secondary factor. The present study suggests that this applies to other kinds of human teeth.

A resin embedding method for transparent teeth with ink-infiltrated pulp cavities

This study was designed to evaluate whether resin embedded transparent teeth are as convenient to use as classical transparent teeth. For this purpose demineralized human teeth were divided into coronal and radical portions, and pulp tissue was extracted from the pulp chamber and root canals, into which drawing ink was injected. After dehydration, the specimens were made transparent in methyl salicylate and immersed in polyester resin. The divided portions were recombined at the polymerization. The resin embedded teeth maintained transparency and the black-stained pulp chamber and root canals showed morphological details. The resin embedded specimens could be handled manually and observed freely from any angle. Previously, transparent teeth have been observed in transparent media through a capped glass bottle. In this respect the resin embedding method is superior to the classical method. The new method will be helpful for investigating root canal morphology.

Serum zinc and copper levels in the maternal blood and cord blood of neonates

Estimation of serum zinc and copper in the maternal blood and cord blood of neonates was carried out to correlate the trace metals in the neonates and their mothers in relation to gestational age and birth weight. Sixty-five healthy neonates, both term and preterm and their mothers were selected. This cross sectional study was done at Azimpur Maternity Centre, Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Chemistry Division, Atomic Energy Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh from July 1997 to June 1998. The estimation of trace metals was carried out by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The mean serum zinc levels in the maternal blood and cord blood were 0.47 +/- 0.24 microgram/ml and 0.85 +/- 0.33 microgram/ml respectively and the mean copper levels in the maternal blood and cord blood were 1.37 +/- 0.62 micrograms/ml and 0.31 +/- 0.32 microgram/ml respectively. Cord blood zinc level was significantly higher and cord blood copper level was significantly lower than the corresponding maternal blood levels. There was no significant correlation between gestational age and serum zinc levels in the cord or maternal blood. But significant inverse correlation was found between gestational age and serum levels of copper in the maternal and cord blood.