Reduced level of non-esterified fatty acids in sera from patients with infectious respiratory disease

Sera from 103 fasting individuals 3 to 76 years of age and free of clinical infectious disease and sera from 183 patients with infectious disease were assayed for serum total non-esterfied fatty acids (tNEFA) and compared. Data were also separated into five groups according to age of donor: 3--7, 8--19, 20--35, 36--60, and 61--76 years. The mean group serum levels of tNEFA increased with age. Among patients with infectious diseases sixty-five were diagnosed as having hepatitis, 41 with infectious mononucleosis, 18 with cellulitis, 12 with pulmonary tuberculosis, 11 with non-pneumococcal pneumonia, 9 with pneumococcal pneumonia, 8 with pharyngitis, 6 with pyelonephritis, 6 with aseptic meningitis, 4 with Gram-negative sepsis, and 3 with encephalitis. The sera from 23 non-fasting patients with gonorrhea were also tested. The serum tNEFA levels were found to be altered, in fact depressed from normal group values, only in patients with pneumonia or tuberculosis. This depression may be related to aberrant pulmonary metabolism during pneumonia.