LOW CONTENT OF CEREBRAL LIPIDS IN INFANTS SUFFERING FROM MALNUTRITION

The pathological and biochemical effects of malnutrition on the developing central nervous system of experimental animals have already been, studied1-7. If animals are starved early in life, the weight and the content of lipid and nucleic acid in the brain are less than in well nourished animals at all ages1-3. The rate of synthesis is retarded most for classes of lipids closely associated with the formation of myelin. Persistent deficits in learning have also been demonstrated in animals deprived of food during the intrauterine or pre-weanling phase of growth8,9. © 1969 Nature Publishing Group.