Effect of Elevated Body Temperature on Plasma Vitamin A and Carotene.

Abstract

In a study of 92 patients it was found that elevation of the body temperature to 105.5° or 106.0°F (rectal) by physically induced fever was followed by a depression of the plasma vitamin A and carotene. The extent of the depression was directly related to the duration of the fever. The course of the plasma vitamin A and carotene was almost identical irrespective of the chemo-therapeutic agents (bismuth subsalicylate in oil, mapharsen, sulfathiazole or the sodium salt of penicillin) given either before or during physically-induced fever of equal duration. It is, therefore, justifiable to conclude that elevation of the body temperature is the principal cause of the depression of plasma vitamin A and carotene. At the termination of fever, the plasma vitamin A was nearly at the lowest level. The restoration of the plasma vitamin A level usually occurred by the second day after treatment and took place spontaneously without any special medication or dietary measures. The plasma carotene level showed a pattern similar to that of the plasma vitamin A. The depression of the carotene was generally not as great and occurred more slowly. This behavior of the plasma vitamin A is, to the best of our knowledge, the first biochemical indicator shown to serve as a measurement of the intensity of the action of physically-induced fever on the human organism.