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Query: UMLS:C0024523 (malabsorption)
 7,319 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

With the objective of determining the relationship between ascariasis and carbohydrate absorption from rice, breath hydrogen tests (BHT's) were performed in two study populations of Burmese village children. Using a rice test meal, breath hydrogen peaks greater than 10 ppm above baseline within 4 hours (indicating rice malabsorption) were seen in 24 out of 55 (44 per cent) Ascaris lumbricoides infected children and 3 out of 18 (17 per cent) non-infected children (age 18-59 months). In another ascaris endemic village 139 children (age 36-108 months) underwent a rice meal BHT. Seventy children had been regularly dewormed for 2 years (single dose levamisole 50 mg every 3 months) whilst 69 children had been dewormed once in 2 years, 6 weeks before breath testing. Regularly dewormed children showed a lower prevalence of rice malabsorption (33 per cent) compared to the control group (54 per cent) (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that malabsorption of carbohydrate from rice can occur during Ascaris lumbricoides infection in children.
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PMID:Absorption of carbohydrate from rice in Ascaris lumbricoides infected Burmese village children. 184 93

This group of researchers recently reported findings on the overall effect of Ascaris lumbricoides infection on human nutrition. On the basis of available data, it was suggested that intestinal malabsorption is a potential cause of nutritional impairment in children infected with Ascaris lumbricoides. The purpose of this discussion is to present additional data on the effect of Ascaris infection on small bowel function and structure in children. 5 children with heavy Ascaris infection without any evidence of clinical malnutrition were admitted to a metabolic unit. On admission, each child was placed on a constant diet consisting of 82-95 kcal and approximately 1 g protein/kg body weight/day. The amount of dietary fat varied from 55-60 g; the levels of vitamins and minerals in the diet were adjusted to meet the recommended dietary allowances. After an adjustment period of 4-6 days, fecal samples were collected during 2 periods of 4 days each for nitrogen and fat analysis. Peroral jejunal biopsies were obtained using an 8 mm Crosby-Kugler biopsy capsule. The samples were processed and stained according to standard techniques. The children then received deworming treatment consisting of 75 mg piperazine/kg body weight daily for 5 consecutive days. In 4 of 5 children there was reduced fecal nitrogen excretion; the mean reduction represented 6.5% of dietary nitrogen. Steatorrhea was present in 4 children; deworming resulted in a reduction of fecal fat from 9.9-2.3% of dietary fat. 3 children demonstrated an impairment in D-xylose excretion. It returned to normal following deworming in only 1 child. The jejunal morphology was found to be abnormal in all children. In each case a significant improvement was noted soon after deworming. The study results strongly suggest that there is a cause and effect relationship between Ascaris infection and intestinal lesions in children.
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PMID:Malabsorption syndrome in ascariasis. 508 50

The effect of Ascaris lumbricoides infection on retinol absorption was investigated in young children from a slum area of Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Twenty-four children aged 4-10 years were screened and in every case eggs of either Ascaris, Trichuris or hookworm were isolated from the stool. The average serum retinol was 0.91 (SD 0.35) mumol/l and sixteen children had levels below 1.05 mumol/l. This compared with a serum retinol concentration of 1.70 (SD 0.52) mumol/l in five reference children from a more privileged social background. An oral dose of retinol (41.8 mumol) was given to ten children in whom the concentration of Ascaris eggs in the stool varied. Less than 1% of the supplement could be recovered in the stools collected over the following 48 h. Ascaris worms were isolated from the stool and assayed for retinol content. In no case was retinol detected in the worms. These findings do not support the contention that infection with Ascaris predisposes to malabsorption of vitamin A.
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PMID:Vitamin A absorption in children with ascariasis. 832 56