The Rebuck window technique was used to determine the functional integrity of the inflammatory response in nine children with kwashiorkor. The total numbers of leukocytes mobilized into skin abrasions were similar between kwashiorkor and control patients. However, children with kwashiorkor showed significantly delayed and decreased macrophage migration and increased polymorphonuclear leukocyte ...

Tne classification of protein-calorie malnutrition suggested by the Wellcome Trust Working party was employed in 119 children under the age of 4 years admitted to Khartoum Hospital with severe malnutrition between May and December 1973. Our findings compare closely with findings from other centres using the same classification. All children were below 80% of the Boston standard for weight. 58% ...

Development of new tuberculosis vaccine will be an important strategy to eliminate tuberculosis in kwashiorkor. Previous research showed that 38-kDa Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein is one of the potent immunogen. However, the role of oral immunization with 38kDa Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein to the number of lymphocytes in the rat model of kwashiorkor is still unknown. We used kwashiork...

A study of leucocyte response to infection, polymorphonuclear leucocyte chemotaxis and bactericidal activity, and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction in children with kwashiorkor was undertaken and compared with a control group. The results show that total leucocyte counts were depressed in children with kwashiorkor, and lymphopenia was not infrequent. NBT reduction was normal. Abnormal polym...

BACKGROUND Oedema is a sine qua non for the diagnosis of kwashiorkor yet the mechanisms leading to oedema remain ill defined. AIMS To relate the plasma concentration of radical promoting 'free' iron to the degree of oedema in patients with kwashiorkor. SETTING University teaching hospital. PATIENTS Fifteen children with kwashiorkor, nine of whom had severe and six of whom had a moderate d...

The etiology of kwashiorkor remains enigmatic and longitudinal studies examining potential causes of kwashiorkor are scarce. Using historical, longitudinal study data from the rural area of Bwamanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, we investigated the potential causal association between diet and the development of kwashiorkor in 5 657 preschool children followed 3-monthly during 15 months. We co...

Aflatoxins are natural contaminants of food crops implicated in the pathogenesis of various human diseases. This study aimed to determine the associations between aflatoxins and proteinenergy malnutrition (PEM) by measurements of aflatoxins in serum, urine and food on plate of Nigerian children with PEM. A crosssectional study was undertaken in 3 agroecological regions of Nigeria (Guinea savann...

Kwashiorkor and marasmus are the two commonest forms of infant malnutrition found in tropical countries and the fundamental aetiological difference between them appears to be in the proportion of carbohydrate in the diet. The diet leading to marasmus seems to be reasonably balanced though insufficient in quantity and therefore in calories as well as protein, whereas the diet leading to kwashior...

Since the first description of kwashiorkor by Williams (1935), this condition has been found to be prevalent in many economically backward countries. Nevertheless, the minimum criteria for the diagnosis of kwashiorkor have never been agreed. Brock and Autret (1952) accepted a diagnosis of kwashiorkor if there was retarded growth, alterations in skin and hair pigmentation, oedema, fatty infiltra...