Changes in content and composition of brain phospholipids in malnourished children
1979
Yusuf, Harun K.M. | Dickerson, John W.T. | Waterlow, John C.
Because myelination is a vulnerable period in brain development, malnutrition in the prenatal and postnatal periods which may decrease myelin-specific lipids, may affect the brain. The phospholipid content and composition of the forebrain, brain stem, and cerebellum of 8 normal children who died of accident or illness were compared with those of 10 children who died of malnutrition. All children were under the age of 2. The concentration of total phospholipids (lipid-P) per unit weight of dry tissue was generally the same in all 3 brain areas for both groups; however, 3 marasmic cases had higher concentrations in the forebrain and cerebellum. The lipid-P:DNA ratio in the forebrain and cerebellum was higher in most of the malnourished children under 12 months than in similar aged normal children, and it was higher than normal in the brain stem of afew cases. Sphingomyelin (SPh) had progressively low mole percentage value in each brain part of the malnourished children. This probably indicates depressed myelination due to decreased synthesis of a myelin lipid and decreased number of cells.
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