Sammon A M
Department of Surgery, University of Bristol, Bristol Royal Infirmary, UK.
Postgrad Med J. 1999 Mar;75(881):129-32. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.75.881.129.
Review of the evidence available in published literature supports a radical change in viewpoint with respect to disease in countries where maize is the predominant dietary component. In these countries, the pattern of disease is largely determined by a change in immune profile caused by metabolites of dietary linoleic acid. High intake of linoleic acid in a diet deficient in other polyunsaturated fatty acids and in riboflavin results in high tissue production of prostaglandin E2, which in turn causes inhibition of the proliferation and cytokine production of Th1 cells, mediators of cellular immunity. Tuberculosis, measles, hepatoma, secondary infection in HIV and kwashiorkor are all favoured by this reduction in cellular immunity. Diet-associated inhibition of the Th1 subset is a major contributor to the high prevalence of these diseases found in areas of sub-Saharan Africa where maize is the staple.
对已发表文献中现有证据的回顾支持了在以玉米为主食成分的国家中，人们对疾病的看法发生了根本性的转变。在这些国家，疾病模式很大程度上由膳食亚油酸代谢产物引起的免疫特征变化所决定。在缺乏其他多不饱和脂肪酸和核黄素的饮食中大量摄入亚油酸会导致组织中前列腺素E2的大量产生，进而抑制细胞免疫介质Th1细胞的增殖和细胞因子产生。结核病、麻疹、肝癌、艾滋病毒继发感染和夸休可尔症都因这种细胞免疫的降低而加重。与饮食相关的Th1亚群抑制是撒哈拉以南非洲以玉米为主食的地区这些疾病高发的主要原因。
