The serum proteins in kwashiorkor

Abstract

Summary 1. The total serum proteins and the protein fractions have been estimated in healthy Nigerian children, in children with kwashiorkor, and in patients who have recovered from kwashiorkor. 2. In kwashiorkor there is a statistically significant fall in the mean absolute concentration of total proteins, albumin, alpha2 globulin, and beta globulin. Mean alpha1 globulin concentration is also less than normal but the difference is not significant in all age periods. The changes in mean gamma globulin concentration are not statistically significant. 3. Albumin shows a marked fall, alpha1 and alpha2 globulins a variable change, and beta globulin a slight fall, while gamma globulin shows a marked rise in relative concentration. 4. It is concluded that the serum protein pattern in kwashiorkor is produced by a combination of quantitative and qualitative deficiency of amino acids, liver damage, and infection. Furthermore, the globulin fractions of the serum proteins may include proteins that are physiologically less labile than the serum albumin. 5. The changes in serum protein play an important part in the production of edema; they also account for the reduction in serum iron-binding capacity, copper, and calcium.