Avaliação nutricional em crianças com infecçoes por enteroparasitas / Nutritional evaluation of children with enteroparasitosis

PURPOSE: To evaluate the nutritious state in children of low social-economic class in order to look over a possible corelationship among this status and the infections caused by enteroparasites. METHODS: 103 children were submitted to a nutritions evolution and to accomplish a exam of serial samples. The method employed searched protozoan cystos, helmints eggs and larvae and it counted helmint eggs when presented through 4 different methods of diagnosis. RESULTS: The results obtained show that the poor environmental and social-economic conditions helped create a high infectious frequency caused by enteroparasites, mainly by Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides, among the helminthes, and Endolimax nana and Giardia lamblia, among the protozoans. light malnutrition without protein deficit was found in 93.55% and moderate malnutrition in 6.45% of the children malnutrition (30.7%). CONCLUSION: Then, it is possible to suggest that children besides bearing many parasitosis were not weth their nutritional state deeply compromised.

Influência das condições socioeconômicas nas alterações nutricionais e na taxa de metabolismo de repouso em crianças escolares moradoras em favelas no município de São Paulo / Influence of socioeconomic conditions in the nutritional changes and rest metabolic rate in school children living in shantytowns of the city of São Paulo, Brazil

OBJETIVOS: Realizou-se um estudo transversal para avaliar a taxa de metabolismo de repouso (TMR) e condições socioeconômicas em 15 crianças escolares do sexo feminino; eutróficas (EU= estatura/idade > ou = 95 por cento e peso/idade entre 90-110por cento) e 15 com desnutrição pregressa (DP= estatura/idade < 95 por cento e peso/estatura entre 90-110 por cento) moradoras em favelas no município de São Paulo. MÉTODOS: Avaliou-se a TMR por calorimetria indireta, e a situação socioeconômica por entrevista domiciliar. RESULTADOS: O grupo DP apresentou TMR mais alta quando expressa por unidade de peso corpóreo (EU= 40,5 Kcal/kg/dia; DP=44,4 Kcal/kg/dia, p<0,05) e por quilograma de massa magra (EU= 49,2 Kcal/kg/dia; DP=52,5 Kcal/kg/dia, p<0,05); e diferenças significantes para renda per capita, analfabetismo materno, número de parasitas por criança, número de ordem entre os filhos e número de irmãos. Em análise multivariada as variáveis associadas à desnutrição foram renda per capita e analfabetismo materno. CONCLUSÕES: Embora os dois grupos tenham peso/estatura normais, a presença de baixa estatura leve foi acompanhada por alterações metabólicas e socioeconômicas típicas de um quadro de desnutrição.

Coccidian parasites as a cause of watery diarrhoea among protein energy malnourished and other immunocompromised Egyptian children

The role of coccidian parasites in the pathogenesis of watery diarrhea was studied among children with protein energy malnutrition [PEM] immunocompromised due to causes other than PEM and immunocompetent diarrheic cases of matched age and sex as controls. The results showed that the prevalence of infection was 15.48%, Cryptosporidium was the most prevalent and showed 14.19% [18.3%, 17.5% and 7.3% in PEM, immunocompromised and immunocompetent cases, respectively]. Cyclospora oocysts were detected only among two cases of PEM group. Isospora oocysts were not detected in any of the studied groups. Modified Ziehl-Neelsen [ZN] technique was found to be the most reliable technique for identification of coccidian protozoa infection in stool. Giardia lamblia cysts were found in 10.97% and Entamoeba histolytica in 5.16% of cases. Mixed infection [G. lamblia and E. Histolytica] was found in 2.58% of the cases. The duration of diarrhoea was more prolonged in Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora infections among PEM and immunocompromised cases. Cryptosporidium is one of the important causes of watery diarrhoea in infants and children in PEM and immunocompromised patients

Effects of severe protein restriction in levels of parasitemia and in mortality of mice acutely infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

Adult mice were submitted to different degrees of protein restriction for five weeks (4.75, 9.5, 14.25 and 19 per cent of protein in isocaloric diets with normal content of mineral and vitamins), being subsequently infected with two strains of Trypanosoma cruzi: 10(5) trypomastigotes of Y strain or 10(4) trypomastigotes of CL strain. The same diet was maintained for all animals and the infection was followed up by evaluation of blood parasites, mortality and intensity of lesions in the heart and skeleton muscle. Only severe protein restriction (4.75 per cent ) induced decrease in resistance to the infection with both the Y and CL strains of T. cruzi, which resulted in higher parasitemia and mortality. The inflammatory lesions in heart and skeleton muscle were less extensive in groups with severe protein restriction despite the increased number of parasite in muscle cells. Depression of immune mechanisms could be responsible for the reduced resistance and reduced inflammatory reaction after T. cruzi infection in severely protein restricted animals