were performed in all except 2 patients. Lactose absorption was more impaired and intestinal lactase levels were lower in the pellagra than in the kwashiorkor group. The fact that diarrhoea after admission to hospital was less common in pellagra than kwashiorkor was ascribed to a lesser lactose load due to the early introduction of a mixed diet in the former group, in comparison with milk feeds...

Children with protein calorie malnutrition have impaired immune functions. Immunoglobulin levels are low in children with severe protein deprivation, but are not affected in moderate or borderline protein malnutrition. Specific antibody response is either normal or reduced depending on the antigen used. Involution of the thymus dependent lymphatic system and severe impairment of the cell-mediat...

Severe childhood malnutrition embraces a spectrum of clinical presentations and pathologic disorders. Across the entire spectrum, there is clear evidence of major changes in the state of amino acid and whole body protein metabolism, from the skeletal wasting and stunting of marasmus to the varied multisystem changes characterized by the kwashiorkor syndrome. For this reason, amino acid and prot...

Background. Inflammation, together with related oxidative stress, is linked with the etiology of kwashiorkor, a form of severe acute malnutrition in children. A diet rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytochemicals may offer potential for the prevention and treatment of kwashiorkor. We selected and assayed five leafy green vegetables, two wild fruits, and six medicinal plants from Kenya...

The patient with xerophthalmia is usually found in the polyclinic or during a more-orless superficial school or village inspection. He is a child, and as he comes from an environment unaccustomed to serious medical care, it it often difficult to make the parents understand the gravity of the condition and obtain their consent for his admission to hospital. The patients with xerophthalmia descri...

The pre-dietary rehabilitation levels of acute phase proteins (APP) namely, alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT), orosomucoid (ORO), haptoglobin (HAP), fibrinogen (FIB) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the plasma of Sudanese children with severe protein energy malnutrition (PEM) were compared with those of normal controls, and with the levels after dietary rehabilitation. Eighty one children were included ...