Intestinal absorption in protein-calorie malnutrition

ABSTRACT

Sugar absorption was studied by jejunal perfusion in five malnourished children both on admission and after at least 2 months' high-protein feeding. All children initially had poor glucose absorption, four had defective lactose hydrolysis and two a defect in sucrose hydrolysis. The hydrolytic defects were related to low disaccharidase activities in jejunal mucosal tissue. Mean transit-times of fluid in the jejunal test segment were correlated with the amount of unabsorbed sugar in the lumen. Abnormal intestinal motility was not a primary feature of the diarrhoea in these children. After treatment glucose absorption, lactose and sucrose hydrolysis all improved and disaccharidase activities increased, showing that these intestinal defects in malnutrition can be reversed (Summary)