Effect of feeding malnourished patients for 1 mo on mitochondrial complex I activity and nutritional assessment measurements.
BACKGROUND
We showed previously that the activity of complex I (the first enzyme of the electron transport chain) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells decreases with malnutrition and increases to a subnormal value after 1 wk of refeeding, but the traditional markers of nutritional status do not do so.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to ascertain whether a period of nutritional intervention longer than 1 wk would normalize complex I activity and traditional markers of nutritional status.


METHODS
Fifteen malnourished patients (7 women and 8 men) with > or =10% body weight loss over the previous 6 mo were studied on the day of their admission to hospital and 7, 14 and 30 d after the beginning of nutritional support. Complex I activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, weight, height, body composition, body water compartments, dietary intake, and serum albumin concentrations were measured on each occasion. The results before and during nutritional intervention were compared with values obtained in 30 healthy volunteers (17 women and 13 men).


RESULTS
Complex I activity increased significantly after the first week of refeeding (P < 0.001) and reached a normal value after 1 mo of nutritional supplementation. Among the classic markers of nutritional status, only the ratio of extracellular water to intracellular water tended to decrease over the refeeding period.


CONCLUSIONS
Complex I activity increases rapidly and is normalized by refeeding at a time when other markers of nutritional status do not change significantly.
Briet
Francoise
F
Department of Medicine, Medical Science Building, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 1A8, Ontario, Canada.
Twomey
Clare
C
Jeejeebhoy
Khursheed N
KN
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D042967:Electron Transport Complex I / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000201:enzymology*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000378:metabolism; D009752:Nutritional Status; D018529:Nutritional Support
D015415:Biomarkers; D042967:Electron Transport Complex I