Inanition

Jl. Jackson, C. M., The Effects of Inanition and Malnutrition upon Growth and Structure. Blackson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1925. 

Classification should not automatically be discounted for chemicals that produce developmental toxicity only in association with maternal toxicity, even if a specific maternally-mediated mechanism has been demonstrated. In such a case, classification in Category 2 may be considered more appropriate than Category 1. However, when a chemical is so toxic that maternal death or severe inanition results, or the dams are prostrate and incapable of nursing the pups, it may be reasonable to assume that developmental toxicity is produced solely as a secondary consequence of maternal toxicity and discount the developmental effects. Classification may not necessarily be the outcome in the case of minor developmental changes e.g. small reduction in foetal/pup body weight, retardation of ossification when seen in association with maternal toxicity. 

Prognosis— inability to walk 10 years after onset, with progressive weakness, atrophy, and contracture of muscles leading to skeletal distortion, complete helplessness, and death in the second decade due to inanition or infection. 

Dietary protein deficiency, especially a lack of essential amino acids, has a long-term effect on regulatory mechanisms. Tryptophan plays a significant role here. Tryptophan deficiency leads to decreased protein synthesis, which is reversible solely by dietary supplementation of tryptophan even during inanition. The tryptophan effect occurs rapidly following the stimulation of nuclear RNA synthesis. (89) (s. fig. 3.4)... 

Inanition—Severe weakness and wasting as occurs from lack of food, defect in assimilation, or neoplastic disease. 

An increase in liver glucose-6-phosphatase like that in scurvy also occurs in starvation and may be produced by the inanition of scurvy along with the marked reduction of liver glycogen and reduced glucose tolerance commonly seen (M28, S24, B6). Inanition has not been observed to cause some of the other enzyme changes. ATPase, for example, increases in heart and skeletal muscle of fasted guinea pigs (MIO) in contrast to the fall observed in the scorbutic animals (S22). 

Nash, J.B., Doucet, B.M., Ewing, P.L., and Emerson, G.A., Effects of cyanide antidotes and inanition on acute lethal toxicity of malononitrile in mice. Arch. Int. Pharmacodyn., 84, 385, 1950. 

After great fatigue or inanition, when the ftomach is fud-denly filled with flelh and vegetable food, the inattention to external... 

The difagreeable irritation of a difeafed liver produces exertions and coiifequent quiefcence thefe by the accidental concurrence of other caufes of quiefcence, as cold, folar or lunar periods, inanition, the want of their ufual portion of fpirit of wine, a length produces paralyfis. 

In an independent, but closely related, study (P16), nine euthyroid obese volunteers undergoing marked caloric deprivation exhibited striking decreases in both total and free T3 cxmcentration, together widi slight increases in free T4 cxmcentration and normal levels of serum TSH. Low serum T3 levels in euthyroid subjects have also been found in hepatic cirrhosis (CIO). These papers (Cl, CIO, P16) have immediate practical application in regard to the interpretation of thyroid function tests and in particular of T3 assays in the chronic sick patient or in any state of inanition. They also have a bearing on the controversy on whether or not T4 has intrinsic hormonal activity or is merely a prohormone, and there are implications in respect to the nature of the feedback control of TSH production. 

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