RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To determine the presence of radical promoting iron (non-protein-bound or loosely bound or free iron) in the plasma of children with kwashiorkor. DESIGN: The bleomycin assay was employed for the quantitation of free or loosely bound iron. SETTING: The Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town, Tertiary Care. SUBJECTS: Fifty children on admission with kwashiorkor: six with marasmus and twelve healthy well-nourished controls. RESULTS: Non-protein-bound iron was detected in the plasma of 58% of children with kwashiorkor but was absent in marasmic and healthy well-nourished children. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of radical promoting iron supports the hypothesis that a free radical injury probably plays a role in the pathogenesis of kwashiorkor and its removal may improve mortality.
Assuntos
Ferro/sangue , Desnutrição Proteico-Calórica/sangue , Bleomicina , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Pré-Escolar , Humanos , Lactente , Kwashiorkor/sangue , Kwashiorkor/diagnóstico , Ligação Proteica , Desnutrição Proteico-Calórica/diagnósticoRESUMO
Maternal weight recorded on the day after delivery correlated significantly with maternal skinfold thickness measured at multiple sites. Skinfold thickness probably reflects total body fat stores. It is suggested that the relationship between maternal weight and fetal birth weight may be mediated by the amount of maternal fat available to meet the energy requirements of the growing fetus.
Assuntos
Peso Corporal , Obesidade/classificação , Período Pós-Parto , Feminino , Humanos , Mães , Gravidez , Dobras CutâneasRESUMO
The measurement of weight, length and head circumference at birth was used to document the size and shape of infants born at term in a population where mothers are relatively short and underweight. Different patterns of intrauterine growth are proposed to explain the variation in the infant's appearance at birth. Most of the small-for-gestational-age infants were proportionately stunted. This pattern of fetal growth is probably characteristic of infants born to undernourished mothers in economically developing communities, and reflects prolonged intrauterine growth retardation.
Assuntos
Peso ao Nascer , Estatura , Retardo do Crescimento Fetal/fisiopatologia , Cabeça , Adulto , Cefalometria , Feminino , Humanos , Recém-Nascido , Doenças do Recém-Nascido/fisiopatologia , Recém-Nascido Pequeno para a Idade Gestacional , Masculino , Mães , Distúrbios Nutricionais , GravidezAssuntos
Coleta de Amostras Sanguíneas/métodos , Ferritinas/sangue , Calcanhar , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , PunçõesRESUMO
An epidemiological study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of asthma in young urban and rural black (Xhosa) children. One thousand three hundred and seventy five children were studied, 694 from a Cape Town african township and 671 from a rural area in Transkei. The exercise tolerance test which required free range running at maximum effort for 6 min was used to identify asthmatic subjects. A fall of 15% or more in the post-exercise FEV1 and PEFR values was regarded as a positive result. Twenty-three children were found to be asthmatic, twenty-two from the city area, but only one from the country, giving a prevalence figure for asthma of 3.17% in the first group and 0.14% for the second. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed. The exercise tolerance test was found to be a useful tool for epidemiological studies of asthma.
Assuntos
Asma/epidemiologia , Saúde , Saúde da População Rural , Saúde da População Urbana , Asma Induzida por Exercício/diagnóstico , Criança , Feminino , Volume Expiratório Forçado , Humanos , Masculino , Pico do Fluxo Expiratório , África do SulRESUMO
The understanding and measurement of blood viscosity play an important part in mordern medicine. The basic principles and relevances of fluid viscosity are discussed. Factors which alter viscosity include shear rate, haematocrit, erythrocyte deformability, internal fluidity, pH, plasma proteins, temperature, osmolality, lipids and leucocytes. In vivo changes in vascular architecture are thought to influence blood viscosity. Some of the clinical conditions in which viscosity is important are described. Hyperviscosity should be treated before complications arise.
Assuntos
Viscosidade Sanguínea , Velocidade do Fluxo Sanguíneo , Vasos Sanguíneos/anatomia & histologia , Criança , Hematócrito , Doenças Hematológicas/etiologia , Humanos , Concentração de Íons de Hidrogênio , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Doenças do Recém-Nascido/etiologiaRESUMO
Vigorous term infants who are born normally initially have a moderate metabolic and respiratory acidosis which is corrected by the time the infant is 6 hours old. Asphyxiated infants consistently show a greater degree of acidosis, both metabolic and respiratory. Caesarean section results in higher pCO2 values, especially when 'diffusion apnoea' occurs. Indications for the correction of acidosis in asphyxia are proposed.
Assuntos
Equilíbrio Ácido-Base , Asfixia Neonatal/fisiopatologia , Acidose/complicações , Acidose Respiratória/complicações , Apneia/complicações , Asfixia Neonatal/sangue , Asfixia Neonatal/complicações , Sangue , Dióxido de Carbono/sangue , Cesárea , Humanos , Concentração de Íons de Hidrogênio , Recém-Nascido , Doenças do Recém-Nascido/complicaçõesRESUMO
Normal values for the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) test in full-term, premature and small-for-gestational-age infants are presented. The NBT reduction was elevated in all groups of babies studied. There was no statistical difference between the groups and the range was wide. Infected babies also showed elevated NBT reduction. However, 60% of the results obtained in the infected group fell within the same range as those obtained in normal neonates. This renders the test unhelpful in the diagnosis of bacterial infection in the neonatal period.
