Alpha 2 HS-glycoprotein levels in children with protein-energy malnutrition and infections

Serum alpha 2 HS-glycoprotein levels were studied, using the single-radial immunodiffusion method, in 39 severely malnourished children (22 kwashiorkor, 17 marasmus) of whom 15 (8 kwashiorkor, 7 marasmus) were infected and 24 (14 kwashiorkor, 10 marasmus) had no signs of infection. Thirty-two well-nourished children, 16 of whom were infected, served as controls. The uninfected controls had higher serum alpha 2 HS-glycoprotein levels than the uninfected kwashiorkor (82.0 +/- 14.7; 57.0 +/- 15.8; p less than 0.001) and marasmic children (82.0 +/- 14.7; 45.0 +/- 13.9; p less than 0.001). Infection was associated with a significant decrease in the mean serum alpha 2 HS-glycoprotein levels in the well-nourished (82.0 +/- 14.7; 57.0 +/- 7.7; p less than 0.001) and kwashiorkor (57.0 +/- 15.8; 34.0 +/- 20.4; p less than 0.02) children, while no such decrease was observed in the marasmic children. While the mean serum glycoprotein level in the infected controls was higher than that in the infected kwashiorkor children (57.0 +/- 7.7; 34.0 +/- 20.4; p less than 0.02), it was comparable to that in the infected marasmic children (57.0 +/- 7.7; 50.0 +/- 11.6; p greater than 0.05). Furthermore, the mean alpha 2 HS-glycoprotein level in the infected malnourished children was higher in marasmus than in kwashiorkor (50.0 +/- 11.6; 34.0 +/- 20.4; p greater than 0.05); this difference was, however, not statistically significant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)