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Biomedical subjects

S I Ette

Publications and source records attributed to S I Ette.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Nutritional studies of the south eastern state peasant diet: studies of the effect of malarial infection (Plasmodium berghei) on electrolyte changes in rats fed the peasants' diet.

1. Plasmodium Berghei (malaria infection) is not specifically related to the nutritional status of the host though nutritional status may aid the advance or elimination of the parasite. 2. The effect of the infection is more severe in low protein diets than in diets whose protein content was adequate. 3. There was no evidence of excessive urinary excretion of electrolytes in the infected rats. 4. It is suggested that low plasma levels of electrolytes in the infected rats were due to skin losses and these losses were independent of the protein content of the diet thus severity of malarial infection is unaffected by protein nutrition.

Animals↗

Effect of feeding different carbohydrates to rats on low protein diets.

The experimental results to be presented here do not demonstrate any significance among the means of the values obtained for the various carbohydrate diets, except for lactose. The results will suggest that the differences between the values for lactose and other diets are significant (PL0.05).No definite trend in the biological value (BV), the net protein utilization (NPU), and the true digestibility (TD) which can be attributed to the influence of the carbohydrates are shown by these results. The various dietary manipulations produce no results significantly different than the values for starch, the exception being lactose. The values for lactose are more than for other sugars.However, the results will show a relationship between a mixture of protein in the diet with the values of the individual protein sources if determined separately. Evidently, the values of each protein in any mixture can be predicted by measuring its TD in the mixture.

Animals↗

Iron deficiency anaemia in Nigerian infants.

Hematological parameters and the iron status of 50 randomly selected infants who were attending the research infant welfare clinic of the Institute of Child Health, Ibadan (ICHI), for routine immunization were studied. Investigations included estimations of packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), serum iron (Fe), unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC) and total iron-binding Capacity (TIBC). Forty percent of the infants had PCVs below 0.32, 48% had Hbs below 10 g/dl and 27% had mean corpuscular volume (MVC) less that 70fl. Thirty-seven percent of the children had serum Fe below 3.58 mmol/l, but only 4% had UIBC above 320 mmol/l. Fifty-two percent had Transferin Saturation Index (TSI) below 10%. Eighteen percent had MCV below 70fl associated with TSI below 10% and 67% of these had Hbs below 10 g/dl. The prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in infants as shown in this study is very high. The ill effects of iron deficiency in childhood have been well documented. It is suggested that screening for anaemia should be offered at 9 months as part of a Child Survival Programme and that infants found to be anaemic should be treated. However, for cost-effectiveness and taking into consideration the high prevalence rate of iron deficiency in this age group, it might be preferable to give iron and weekly prophylactic antimalarias routinely to infants aged 9 to 15 months in lieu of screening.

Age Distribution↗

Plasma vitamin C (ascorbic acid) levels in asthmatic children.

Plasma concentration of ascorbic acid was determined in fifty-one asthmatic children and a group of matched controls. The mean ascorbic acid level of 0.54 mg/100 ml among the asthmatics was significantly lower than a mean of 0.84 mg/100 ml for controls (P less than 0.001). Ascorbic acid level was directly related to the socio-economic class (SC) since asthmatic children from SC I, II and II had significantly higher ascorbic acid levels than those from SC IV and V. There was however, no relationship between the plasma ascorbic acid level and atopy, frequency of asthmatic attacks over the previous 12 months and the duration of asthma. It is postulated that if plasma ascorbic acid level was related to the susceptibility to viral respiratory tract infections, the observed low level of the vitamin in the asthmatics would make them more liable to such infections which are capable of precipitating acute asthmatic attacks. Confirmation of our results would indicate the need for regular ascorbic acid supplement in some children with bronchial asthma.

Adolescent↗