title: Tocopherol concentrations in platelets in children.
abstract: To determine the normal range of platelet tocopherol concentrations in childhood, 158 healthy children, 3 months to 15 years old, including 81 males and 77 females were examined and this population was compared with adults. In children, the mean platelet tocopherol concentration was 0.17 micrograms/mg protein, ranging from 0.07 to 0.39 micrograms/mg protein, with a nearly logarithmic distribution. Levels of less than 0.10 micrograms/mg protein were found in only 4 of the 158 subjects. This level may be too low in platelet concentrations for this population of children. Platelet and plasma tocopherol concentrations, and the ratio of plasma tocopherol to total lipids (tocopherol/lipid ratio) in children, excluding the infant group of less than 1 year old, were lower than those in adults. The findings from this population were quite consistent with those of a population previously investigated, with respect to the distribution of plasma and RBC tocopherol concentrations and the tocopherol/lipid ratio. The tocopherol concentrations in plasma, RBCs, and platelets in the infant group were higher than those in the other children's groups (more than 1 year old), and those concentrations were comparable to the adult ones. This may reflect the higher intake of alpha-tocopherol from the prepared formulas containing more than 1,000 micrograms/dl.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Osaka Medical College, Takatsuki, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tatsumi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaoi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mino
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D014810:Vitamin E