Higher Plasma Nonesterified Fatty Acids Research Articles

Specificity of hypoglycaemia for cerebral malaria in children

Glycaemic status on hospital admission was compared in 97 children with severe falciparum malaria (36 with cerebral malaria) and 89 children with other serious illnesses (32 in coma; 57 with acute pneumonia, not in coma). The frequency of hypoglycaemia (blood glucose below 2·2 mmol/l) did not differ significantly between malarial and control patients (5·2% vs 11·2%) nor between the comatose (11·1% vs 18·8%) and conscious (1·6% vs 7·0%) malarial and control subgroups. Compared with normoglycaemic patients, hypoglycaemic patients had appropriately low serum insulin (3·0 vs 8·2 mU/I) and C-peptide (0·13 vs 0·42 mmol/l) and high plasma non-esterified fatty acids (1·42 vs 0·83 mmol/l). Hypoglycaemia, the level of consciousness, and death were all significantly associated with the time since the last meal. Hypoglycaemia is not a specific complication of malaria but is found in severely ill fasted children, resulting from glycogen depletion and perhaps impaired hepatic gluconeogenesis. It should be sought in all severely sick children. A single bolus dose of glucose may not be enough to correct it.

CONVULSIVE SYNDROME IN RABBITS INJECTED WITH FAT EMULSION AND HEPARIN.

Functionally hepatectomized rabbits showed convulsions and coma within 2 hours after the intravenous injection of fat emulsion and heparin. Intravenous injection of the detergent triton prevented this syndrome, if given before the fat emulsion and heparin, and reversed it if given subsequently. Extremely high plasma non-esterified fatty acid levels were noted in rabbits showing the convulsive syndrome, but not in animals that received the detergent. The mechanism of the convulsions probably includes the toxicity of high amounts of non-esterified fatty acids.