Long-term effects of kwashiorkor on the electroencephalogram.
The long-term effects of kwashiorkor on the electroencephalogram were assessed by means of computer analysis techniques. The experimental group, consisting of 30 black children, 6 to 12 years old, hospitalized for the treatment of kwashiorkor during the first 27 months of life, was age-matched with three control groups. These were a group of siblings and of yardmates, neither of whom had been exposed to acute infantile malnutrition, and a very high socioeconomic group of white children. The results revealed significantly less alpha activity and more slow-wave activity in the electroencephalogram of the kwashiokor group than in those of the control groups. These findings confirmed previous results based on visual analysis procedures.
D000513:Alpha Rhythm; D044383:Black People; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003700:Delta Rhythm; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007732:Kwashiorkor / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013019:South Africa; D013826:Theta Rhythm