EFFECT OF SEVERE EARLY MALNUTRITION ON CELLULAR GROWTH OF HUMAN BRAIN

Extract: In ten ‘normal’ brains, obtained from well-nourished Chilean children who died accidentally, weight, protein, and DNA and RNA content were all normal when compared with those values derived from similar children in the United States. Table I demonstrates the values obtained in these children. In nine infants who died of severe malnutrition during the first year of life, there was a proportional reduction in weight, protein, and RNA and DNA content. The actual values for these determinations are given in table II. The number of cells was reduced but the weight or protein per cell was unchanged Three infants who weighed less than 2,000 grams at birth (Infants 2, 3, and 4, table II) were the most severely affected. These data are similar to previous data in animals and demonstrate that in children, severe early malnutrition can result in curtailment of the normal increase in brain cellularity with increase in age. Speculation: At present there is growing concern that malnutrition early in life may retard normal development. Studies conducted in Africa, in South America, in Mexico, in Guatemala, and in our own country suggest that this is true. Retarded brain growth has also been suspected in malnourished children. The decreased head circumference often noted has been cited as evidence for retardation in brain growth. Although numerous chemical changes secondary to undernutrition have been shown in brain of animals, similar studies have not been available in human brain. This study demonstrates such changes and establishes that cell division is curtailed in human brain by severe early malnutrition. The data provide yet another link in the ever lengthening chain of evidence linking malnutrition to faulty brain growth and development. © International Pediatrics Research Foundation, Inc. 1969. All Rights Reserved.