Albumin metabolism in malnourished infants

Albumin metabolism was studied with I131 labelled human serum albumin in malnourished infants before and after treatment. Calculation of the rate of breakdown of albumin from the slope of the decay curve of plasma radioactivity was shown to be erroneous under the conditions of these measurements. When turn-over rates were calculated from the urinary excretion of I131 it was found that the rate of catabolism of albumin was significantly less in the malnourished stated than after recovery. This may represent a compensatory reaction to protein depletion. The rapid regeneration of plasma albumin which occurs in reponse to treatment may be due mainly to the decreased catabolic rate rather than an increased rate of albumin synthesis (AU)