The Effects of Induced Malaria, Acute Starvation and Semi-Starvation on the Electrophoretic Diagram of the Serum Proteins of Normal Young Men 1

Abstract

During the last ten years, the technique for the electrophoretic analysis of serum proteins, originally described by Tiselius (1), has been standardized and a large number of important conditions have been studied. Luetscher (2) has reviewed this work and pointed out that the common denominator of all disease processes studied has been a relative decrease in the albumin fraction. Both acute and chronic infections produce an increase in the alpha globulin fraction which is often accompanied by an increase in the gamma globulin fraction. Chronic noninfectious processes such as ulcer or cancer also are accompanied by an increase in one or both of the alpha globulin fractions. Chow (3) has demonstrated that there exists a negative correlation between the relative amounts of serum albumin and the combined alpha globulins in disease states such as tuberculosis, ulcer and malnutrition. It has been shown that the characteristic response to protein depletion in the dog (4, 5) is also a decrease in albumin and an increase in the alpha globulins. Since this same change occurs in disease Chow has quite properly raised the question as to whether it is a response to the disease state or whether it is the result of the protein depletion which is common to these diseases.

Experimental Malaria in Man. Ii. Liver Function 1

“…This does not necessarily deny the importance of the concentration of the albumin fraction since in the present study neither the albumin nor the total protein concentration showed major changes at any time in these subjects (cf. Taylor et al [ 1 ] ); the range in the samples on which Figure 1 Bromsulfalein retention has been reported both during and after induced malaria (7,24,29); the phenomenon is similar in natural malaria (19). In natural P. falciparum malaria, Machella (31) found bromsulfalein retention during the febrile stage but not in the afebrile stage (remission), nor two or three days after the introduction of therapy (atabrine).…”

“…For this purpose we have data on both the flocculation tests and the electrophoretic patterns of samples drawn when quinine was first administered to terminate the malaria. The details of the electrophoretic method have been reported previously (1). Figure 1 shows the correlation between the Hanger test and the percentage of the total protein fraction represented by gamma globulin.…”

Experimental Malaria in Man. I. Physical Deterioration and Recovery 1

“…Electrophoretic pattern shifts characteristic of other infectious diseases were observed in the plasma proteins (Taylor, Mickelsen and Keys [6]). …”

“…In general, there are few quantitative data on the physical deterioration produced by stress and almost none on the recovery process, the principal exceptions being the stresses of brief severe work, exposure to heat, and some of the stresses related to high altitude. To these may be added the stress of prolonged caloric undernutrition which we have recently studied in some detail (Keys et al [1] ; Henschel et al [2]; Simonson et al [3] ; Franklin et al [4]; Schiele and Brozek [5] ; Taylor et al [6]). …”

Effect of Methanolic Extract of Stem Bark ofAnogeissus Leiocarpuson Liver Function of Mice Infected with Plasmodium Berghei

“…Liver enzymes are increased in malarial patients, and their level depends on the level of parasitemia (9). The level of liver impairment or damage may not be necessarily proportional to the degree of abnormality in the values obtained by the necessary tests (22), as the increase in the level of serum bilirubin may not be because of the malfunction of the liver, in which case it can also be determined by the rate of haemolysis of erythrocyte as a result of the malaria infection.…”