Intestinal permeability, mucosal injury, and growth faltering in Gambian infants.
There is controversy over whether children in developing countries can catch up on their growth rates after bouts of diarrhoea. A factor influencing catch-up growth is the extent and duration of mucosal injury. To explore the relation between intestinal disease and growth performance, a non-invasive test of intestinal integrity, the lactulose:mannitol permeability test, was done regularly on children aged 2-15 months, whose growth was monitored over a mean of 7.5 months. The study revealed persistent abnormalities in the small bowel mucosa of 2-15 month old Gambian infants and a negative correlation between these abnormalities and growth. Up to 43% of observed growth faltering can be explained on the basis of these long-term intestinal lesions.
Medical Research Council Dunn Nutrition Centre, Cambridge, UK.
P G
PG
Lunn
C A
CA
Northrop-Clewes
R M
RM
Downes
D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000150:complications*; D005714:Gambia; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000502:physiology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007792:Lactulose; D008353:Mannitol; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012423:Rural Health
D008353:Mannitol; D007792:Lactulose