In patients with diabetes type 2, good knowledge about disease often doesn't follow appropriate behavior in their life. Therefore, we wanted to find out basic level of disease knowledge and glycemic control among type 2 diabetic patients, and after that impact of passive and intensive education on knowledge and glycemic control. Starting with 130 participants, 91 patients with type 2 diabetes, from four family medicine services in Tuzla Canton, completed six months education about their disease. Disease Knowledge Test of Michigan Diabetes Training and Research Center was used to evaluate knowledge about diabetes and glycaemic control was assessed by HbA1c. Participants were tested at the beginning of survey, after 3 months of passive education and additional 3 months of intensive one. Basic test showed good knowledge of participants (score 8,3 out of 15), improved knowledge after passive education (score 9,23) and intensive one (11,19) (P<0,0001). Demographic characteristics of patients (age, sex, living area, level of education, duration of disease and type of treatment) had no influence on disease knowledge and glycaemic control during education. Generally, patient education improved significantly glycaemic control by HbA1c reduction 0,45% (P=0,011) without significant differences between passive and intensive one. Education of patients improves both disease knowledge and glycaemic control among type 2 diabetic patients.

Down Syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 (T21) is the most frequent and the best known malformation syndrome associated with mental deficiency that appears in human,. Average incidence of this syndrome is about 1:700 newborns. Numerous researchers noted thyroid disorders in people with Down Syndrome but, clinical symptoms of thyroid dysfunction are difficult to separate from DS phenotype. The aim of this study was to examine the thyroid function in the patients with DS. Our results confirmed higher frequency of thyroid dysfunction in DS patients. Higher values of TSH were found in 60,34% of the examined DS patients, which is significantly higher value comparing with the control group (p<0,01). Compensated hypothyroidism was established in 27,92% of the examined DS patients, and most of those (63,23%) were younger than 6 years. The conclusions emphasize the necessity of implementation of thyroid function screening program in persons with DS, and the need for adequate treatment of its dysfunction. Thus, the symptoms of the disease would be alleviated and better physical and mental fitness ensured.

Primary congenital hypothyroidism is a common preventable cause of mental retardation. Neonatal thyroid screening is highly successful in early diagnosis and the improvement of developmental prognosis in the hypothyroid neonate. However, rarely cases could be missed, so doctors must be aware of the earl symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to emphasize the presenting clinical features of primary congenital hypothyroidism at the age of diagnosis. The study population included 17 children with primary congenital hypothyroidism who attended the Department of Pediatrics, University Clinical Center Tuzla between 1986 and 1999. The diagnosis of all patients was confirmed by serum thyroid function tests (T4 and TSH). Of the 17 patients 10 (58.8%) were diagnosed in the first three months of life and 3 of them (17.6%) between fourth and sixth month of life. Four children (23.5%) were diagnosed after the age of six months. In the first three months of life hypothermia, constipation, jaundice, poor feeding, hoarse cry, macroglossia and hypoactivity were the moste common symptoms. Among the 17 patients with primary congenital hypothyroidism 5 of them (29.4 %) were diagnosed to have disgenetic thyroid tissue and 12 (70.6%) as having dyshormonogenesis. TSH and T4 levels were higher in patients in whom thyroid tissue was dysgenetic as comapared with those with dyshormonogenesis but the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Now it is expected that neonatal screening program in Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation will contribute to the detection of primary congenital hypothyroidism in early days of life. However, until an effective screening test is not yet routine in whole country, paediatricians should consider the diagnosis of hypothyroidism whenever it is clinically suggested.