Part 2 - Immunity in malnutrition without infection in preschool children

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the immunity in malnutrition without infection in preschool children. Protein-energy malnutrition has been identified as the most frequent cause of acquired immune deficiency in man. A number of studies have been conducted in years to elucidate the immune mechanisms in children with varying degrees of malnutrition. The percentage of T cells was significantly low in the severely malnourished group compared with both the undernourished and normally nourished groups. However, the difference was most significant between the severely malnourished and normally nourished group. Absolute T cells were comparable in the three groups. There was no difference in the blast transformation capacity of T cells in the three categories of nutrition. B-cell rosette formation also indicated only a decrease in the percentage with normal absolute counts. The immunoglobulin profile showed a rise of IgA level only in the severely malnourished group and the level of complement, however, was comparable. A decreased inflammatory response at the local site could be because of the impaired polymorphonuclear function in malnutrition. It is demonstrated that the retention of immunity is poor in severely malnourished children who are given BCG at birth and then tested subsequently as preschool children.