COMPLEMENT AND C3-PROACTIVATOR LEVELS IN CHILDREN WITH PROTEIN-CALORIE MALNUTRITION AND EFFECT OF DIETARY TREATMENT

Abstract

The serum levels of complement proteins Clq, Cls, C3, C4, C5, C6, C8, and C9 and of C3 proactivator in twenty children with protein-calorie malnutrition (P.C.M.) were compared with those in normal children of the same age in the same geographical area. These complement proteins were determined on admission and at intervals during different dietary treatment. On admission the serum levels of all the complement proteins, except C4, were markedly lower in the malnourished children than in the normal children, and the children with kwashiorkor had lower complement levels than the children with marasmus. The results suggest that poor diet and, to a lesser extent, infection lead to reduced serum-complement levels in untreated P.C.M. children. The quantity of dietary protein and the caloric intake had a pronounced influence on the repair of the complement system. © 1973.