Abstract
Summary: Muscle tissue obtained by needle biopsy from the quadriceps femoris of eight malnourished and eight recovered children were examined histologically. In both groups about two-thirds of the total nuclear count was due to muscle nuclei. The remaining one-third was made up of vascular, nerve, and interstitial cells and isolated nuclei in similar proportions in the two groups. A significantly greater percentage of muscle nuclei consisted of myogenic cells in recovered children as compared to malnourished children (20.7 ± 6.4 vs. 2.6 ± 1.4%)
Speculation: The presence of a higher percentage of myogenic cells in muscle of children who have recovered from protein-energy malnutrition suggests that muscle repletion involves hyperplastic growth and that muscle maturation in apparently fully recovered children may not be complete.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hansen-Smith, F., Picou, D. & Golden, M. Quantitative Analysis of Nuclear Population in Muscle from Malnourished and Recovered Children. Pediatr Res 12, 167–170 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197803000-00001
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197803000-00001