title: Fecal loss and clearance of alpha-1-antitrypsin in children with persistent diarrhea.
abstract: 1. Daily fecal loss and daily clearance of alpha-1-antitrypsin were determined in 30 infants without intestinal disorders and in 21 with persistent diarrhea. 2. Stools were collected during a 48-h period and a randomly obtained single sample was also collected. Blood samples were also collected from the infants, and alpha-1-antitrypsin was measured by radial immunodiffusion in both stool and serum. 3. No difference in daily fecal loss (mg/d) of alpha-1-antitrypsin was detected between the control group and the group with persistent diarrhea (11 +/- 9.3 vs 18.5 +/- 20 mg/d). No difference in daily alpha-1-antitrypsin clearance (ml/d) was detected between the control group and the group with persistent diarrhea (4.3 +/- 3.6 vs 5.2 +/- 4.8 ml/d). 4. There was a strong correlation between daily fecal loss and daily clearance of alpha-1-antitrypsin (N = 50). There was a weak correlation between the concentrations of alpha-1-antitrypsin in randomly obtained single samples and daily fecal loss of the antiprotease (N = 25; r = -0.183; P < 0.01). 5. We conclude that: a) there is no increased fecal loss of alpha-1-antitrypsin persistent in diarrhea; b) fecal alpha-1-antitrypsin clearance is not necessary to estimate the enteric loss of the antiprotease; c) the determination of alpha-1-antitrypsin in random samples of feces is not a reliable method.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Pediatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Penna
mesh_terms: D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D005779:Immunodiffusion; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011504:Protein-Losing Enteropathies / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin