Noradrenaline levels and morphologic alterations of myocardium in experimental protein-calorie malnutrition.

Experimental protein-calorie malnutrition was produced in rats by giving them a low-protein diet for 6 weeks. Control animals were fed a high-protein diet. The deficient rats showed severe restriction of body weight gain, fatty liver and hypoproteinaemia. In addition the present study demonstrates that the experimentally induced protein-calorie malnutrition brings about marked pathological changes and increased catecholamine levels in the hearts of rats. Based on this demonstration, and considering the synchronism of morphological and biochemical data, we postulate that the nutritional stress to the heart raises the myocardium noradrenaline concentration and the continued exposure to high levels of catecholamines may play a role in the development of cardiac changes in protein-energy malnutrition.