Severe compromised immune deficiency

However, several situations can be anticipated in which support of the immune system is required. These include congenital defects in the immune repertoire, acquired immune deficiencies such as in HIV infection, but also situations in which the immune system is compromised after treatment of patients, e.g., after radiation or chemotherapy. 

A negative nitrogen balance represents a state of protein deficiency, in which the body is breaking down tissues faster than they are being replaced. The ingestion of insufhcient amounts of protein, or food with poor protein quality, cau result in serious medical conditions in which an individual s overall health is compromised. The immune system is severely affected the amount of blood plasma decreases, leading to medical conditions such as anemia or edema aud the body becomes vulnerable to infectious diseases and other serious conditions. Protein malnutrition in infants is called kwashiorkor, and it poses a major health problem in developing countries, such as Africa, Central and South America, and certain parts of Asia. An infant with kwashiorkor suffers from poor muscle and tissue development, loss of appetite, mottled skin, patchy hair, diarrhea, edema, and, eventually, death (similar symptoms are preseut in adults with protein deficiency). Treatment or prevention of this condition lies in adequate consumption of protein-rich foods [106]. 

There is extensive documentation of the effects of zinc and iron deficiency on the immune response (Schloen et al., 1979 Strauss, 1978). Iron-deficient children have impaired bactericidal activity, although concentrations of serum immunoglobulin may be even higher than normal (MacDougall et al., 1975). Arguments have been presented which question whether host defenses are necessarily compromised during iron deficiency (Strauss, 1978 Pearson and Robinson, 1976). However, rats deficient in iron fail to mount a normal primary immune response (Nalder, et al., 1972). Several in vitro studies have indicated impaired responses of lymphocytes and accessory cells from iron-deficient... 

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