SKIN TEMPERATURE AND BASAL METABOLISM DURING FASTING

Abstract

In a previous paper, the skin temperatures of normal children measured with the thermo-electric junction were presented and discussed. The present study presents skin temperature measurements and basal metabolism determinations of four children with idiopathic convulsions, obtained before and during therapeutic fasts of seven to fourteen or more days. Comparisons were made of the heat production, the temperature of the skin, the pulse rate and the blood pressure, in an attempt to estimate the quality and quantity of the changes which take place during fasting. The blood chemical changes in these children, showing the diminution in the glycogen reserve and the onset of a compensated acidosis, have been reported in an earlier communication.¹ The ages of these four children varied from 11 to 13½ years. Physical examination and exhaustive laboratory tests failed to show any abnormality other than poor posture. But for the history of convulsive attacks, they would