The Binding of Aldosterone in the Serum in Kwashiorkor

Abstract

The percentage of bound aldosterone in the serum was measured in six children with kwashiorkor before the initiation of treatment in the same six subjects plus a further three after the edema subsided, and in seventeen healthy children in the same age range. Aldosterone binding fell to nearly half the value observed in the control group at the beginning of treatment in the children with kwashiorkor and rose significantly after the edema subsided. The increase in the binding of aldosterone was associated with a significant increase in the serum albumin levels. The cause of the edema in kwashiorkor is discussed in the light of these findings.