American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 25, 1254-1260, Copyright © 1972 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Interrelated changes in host metabolism during generalized infectious illness

¹ From the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Frederick, Maryland 21701

Through the use of serial studies during induced infections in volunteers and experimental infections in laboratory animals, sequential changes were documented in a number of interrelated metabolic functions of the host. These changes included both anabolic and catabolic responses in protein metabolism, alterations in rates of utilization of carbohydrate, amino acid, and lipid moieties as sources of energy, and altered handling of trace elements. These changes apparently constitute a fundamental, albeit nonspecific, defense mechanism used by the host for surviving the stress of infection and for allowing more specific defense mechanisms to function optimally. These ongoing studies are providing information that describes the metabolic responses during infection and identifies their underlying mechanisms.

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