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Nutrition and pediatrics
ABSTRACTS OF
CURRENT LITERATURE .11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111III1III1IIII111
NUTRITION AND PEDIATRICS
By
SAMUEL ADAMS CoHEN,
M.D.,
NEW YORK CITY
It Is the purpose of this JOURNAL to review so far as possible the most important literature as It appears In English and foreign periodicals and to present it in abstract form. Authors are requested to send abstracts or reprints of their papers to the publishers. 11111111111111111111111111111111111'111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
The Treatment of Anemias. Janet M. Vaughan. Lancet 222: 565. 1932. Vaughan holds that in the human individual normal hematopoiesis is dependent upon an adequate supply of (1) iron, (2) copper, (3) at least two substances present in whole liver, (4) vitamin 0, (5) some complex of vitamin B, (6) secretion of the thyroid gland. According to Vaughan a relative or absolute insufficiency of one or more of the above mentioned factors will produce anemia. Iron is an essential constituent of the hemoglobin molecule. A deficient intake of iron appears to play some part in all iron deficiency anemias; although, in some instance, when anemia occurs, it is felt that anemia results because the body's power of absorption and distribution of iron is at fault. Vaughan states that it is difficult to assess the exact value of copper therapy, since many of the iron preparations contain small amounts of copper as an impurity. The anemias which respond to treatment of whole liver and iron are called microcytic anemias and have usually a low color index. These anemias are associated with (1) chronic hemorrhage, (2) starvation, (3) deficient dietary in children, (4) past sepsis, and (5) carcinomas. In selective instances, particularly in adolescence, thyroid deficiency may exert a varying effect on hematopoiesis. These individuals usually have a hypothyroidism associated with low color index and their anemia usually improves with the administration of thyroid. Lack of vitamin 0 intake which induces anemia, as for example in scurvy, and also experimental studies in vitamin B deficiency suggest the close association of these vitamins to hematopoiesis. The author mentions two important factors which hinder blood formation, namely, (a) sepsis, (b) certain toxic substances as benzol, lead, and excessive exposures to radium and x-ray. Obviously any of the above mentioned therapeutic agents are rendered ineffective when these harmful influences on blood formation are present.
Water and Health. Editorial, J. A. M. A. 93: 8, 1932. In an editorial on "Water and Health" the Journal of the American Medical Association makes some practical comments on E. F. Du Bois' "Diet and Disease. " 405
406
Abstracts
It is not generally known, for instance, that water constitutes more than 70 per cent of protoplasm, the structural basis of organic life, or that, for example, water constitutes the medium in which the chemical changes of metabolism occurs. The relative output of water by the various channels: kidneys, bowels, lung, skin and saliva, differs widely in different persons and also in the same persons under like conditions. One of the results sometimes of an undue intake of fluid is that it is followed by a compensatory output. Augmented heat production in the body as a result of exercise or fever calls for an increased amount of water to facilitate the dissipation of heat, so that the normal temperature of the body will be conserved. It should be borne in mind that food contains a considerable amount of water; for example, nine-tenths of many fruits and vegetables consist of water and comparatively few foodstuffs contain less than half their weight in water. In addition to this intake of water through the ingestion of solid foodstuffs, the fluid supply of the body is also increased by the fact that the transformation of foodstuffs in metabolism leads to production of considerable amount of water from the oxidation of hydrogen. In this respect it may be stated that "sugar produces half its weight of water." Atwater and Benedict found variations in consumptions of water ranging from an average of 2,290 c.c. for persons in repose to 3,700 c.c. for those at moderate work. Because of the demands of the body for water, which as pointed out above is contained in considerable quantities in solid food, Du Bois states that if for any reason solid foods are cut off in disease, it is necessary to supply a proportional increase in liquids in order to bring the water intake up to the level of that of an ordinary person in health. Moreover, in acute disease a still further increase of water intake should be made in order to compensate for the excessive loss of water by the way of the skin and the lungs.
CURRENT LITERATURE .11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111III1III1IIII111
NUTRITION AND PEDIATRICS
By
SAMUEL ADAMS CoHEN,
M.D.,
NEW YORK CITY
It Is the purpose of this JOURNAL to review so far as possible the most important literature as It appears In English and foreign periodicals and to present it in abstract form. Authors are requested to send abstracts or reprints of their papers to the publishers. 11111111111111111111111111111111111'111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
The Treatment of Anemias. Janet M. Vaughan. Lancet 222: 565. 1932. Vaughan holds that in the human individual normal hematopoiesis is dependent upon an adequate supply of (1) iron, (2) copper, (3) at least two substances present in whole liver, (4) vitamin 0, (5) some complex of vitamin B, (6) secretion of the thyroid gland. According to Vaughan a relative or absolute insufficiency of one or more of the above mentioned factors will produce anemia. Iron is an essential constituent of the hemoglobin molecule. A deficient intake of iron appears to play some part in all iron deficiency anemias; although, in some instance, when anemia occurs, it is felt that anemia results because the body's power of absorption and distribution of iron is at fault. Vaughan states that it is difficult to assess the exact value of copper therapy, since many of the iron preparations contain small amounts of copper as an impurity. The anemias which respond to treatment of whole liver and iron are called microcytic anemias and have usually a low color index. These anemias are associated with (1) chronic hemorrhage, (2) starvation, (3) deficient dietary in children, (4) past sepsis, and (5) carcinomas. In selective instances, particularly in adolescence, thyroid deficiency may exert a varying effect on hematopoiesis. These individuals usually have a hypothyroidism associated with low color index and their anemia usually improves with the administration of thyroid. Lack of vitamin 0 intake which induces anemia, as for example in scurvy, and also experimental studies in vitamin B deficiency suggest the close association of these vitamins to hematopoiesis. The author mentions two important factors which hinder blood formation, namely, (a) sepsis, (b) certain toxic substances as benzol, lead, and excessive exposures to radium and x-ray. Obviously any of the above mentioned therapeutic agents are rendered ineffective when these harmful influences on blood formation are present.
Water and Health. Editorial, J. A. M. A. 93: 8, 1932. In an editorial on "Water and Health" the Journal of the American Medical Association makes some practical comments on E. F. Du Bois' "Diet and Disease. " 405
406
Abstracts
It is not generally known, for instance, that water constitutes more than 70 per cent of protoplasm, the structural basis of organic life, or that, for example, water constitutes the medium in which the chemical changes of metabolism occurs. The relative output of water by the various channels: kidneys, bowels, lung, skin and saliva, differs widely in different persons and also in the same persons under like conditions. One of the results sometimes of an undue intake of fluid is that it is followed by a compensatory output. Augmented heat production in the body as a result of exercise or fever calls for an increased amount of water to facilitate the dissipation of heat, so that the normal temperature of the body will be conserved. It should be borne in mind that food contains a considerable amount of water; for example, nine-tenths of many fruits and vegetables consist of water and comparatively few foodstuffs contain less than half their weight in water. In addition to this intake of water through the ingestion of solid foodstuffs, the fluid supply of the body is also increased by the fact that the transformation of foodstuffs in metabolism leads to production of considerable amount of water from the oxidation of hydrogen. In this respect it may be stated that "sugar produces half its weight of water." Atwater and Benedict found variations in consumptions of water ranging from an average of 2,290 c.c. for persons in repose to 3,700 c.c. for those at moderate work. Because of the demands of the body for water, which as pointed out above is contained in considerable quantities in solid food, Du Bois states that if for any reason solid foods are cut off in disease, it is necessary to supply a proportional increase in liquids in order to bring the water intake up to the level of that of an ordinary person in health. Moreover, in acute disease a still further increase of water intake should be made in order to compensate for the excessive loss of water by the way of the skin and the lungs.