Reduced sulphation factor in undernourished children.

Grant, D. B., Hambley, J., Becker, D., and Pimstone, B. L. (1973). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 48, 596. Reduced sulphation factor in undernourished children. Serum sulphation factor (SF) activity was estimated in serial samples from 5 children with protein-calorie malnutrition. Serum growth hormone (HGH), albumin, and transferrin were also measured. SF activity was reduced at the time of admission, but had risen in all patients by the ninth day of treatment. While serum HGH fell during treatment, there was no obvious relation between the changes in SF and HGH in each patient. Serum albumin rose during treatment and showed a correlation with the changes in serum SF. The pattern of recovery in serum transferrin was also similar to that shown by SF.