Abstract
In previous communications 1 , 2 the plasma lipids were reported low during the height of acute infections. Cholesterol values were found to fall to definitely subnormal levels during the febrile period of the illness, returning up to or within the normal range during convalescence. This change in the cholesterol content of the blood serum has repeatedly been considered as a possible significant factor in the defense mechanism of the host against the invading organisms of an acute infection. Cholesterol is known to combine readily with bacterial toxins thereby rendering them less toxic.
Since cholesterol, however, exists in the blood as free cholesterol and in combination with fatty acids as ester cholesterol, it is of special interest to determine the individual changes which occur in the levels of the various plasma cholesterol fractions in acute infections. Twelve children ranging in age from 18 months to 13 years were chosen for this study. Six of the subjects had rather extensive infections of the respiratory tract, and the remainder were ill with pneumonia. The first blood sample was obtained at the height of the disease, the average time being the sixth day of the illness. The second sample of blood was drawn during the convalescent period on or about the ninth day of normal temperature. All blood samples were collected between 12 and 16 hours after a meal. Bloor's methods 3 , 4 , 5 were used to determine the total, ester, and free cholesterol values.
The results are summarized in Tables I and II.
The total cholesterol values are much less during the height of the disease than in the period of convalescence. This reduction in acute infections is due to a marked fall in the ester cholesterol, while the free cholesterol content of the blood serum undergoes very little change.
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