Kwashiorkor clinical trials

Use of Low-level Laser Therapy on Children Aged One to Five Years With Energy-protein Malnutrition

Malnutrition is a clinical-social disease caused by multiple prenatal, intrauterine and postnatal factors as well as social, political and cultural determinants (distal causes). Despite the global and national reductions in the number of cases, malnutrition continues to be a public health problem, with greater prevalence in pockets of poverty found in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil. Episodes of malnutrition in early childhood, with consequent calcium, phosphate and vitamin A, C and D deficiencies, can increase one's susceptibility to dental caries through three probable mechanisms: defects in tooth formation (odontogenesis), delayed tooth eruption and alterations in the salivary glands. It is likely that the significant increase in susceptibility to caries in malnourished individuals stems from alterations in the salivary secretion rate, since a reduction in salivary flow (salivary gland atrophy) increases the susceptibility to both dental caries and dental erosion. As saliva is the main defense factor of the oral cavity, a reduction/change in its physical properties (secretion rate and buffering capacity) can cause immunological disorders that affect an individual's defense capacity. Studies have demonstrated that salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) also plays an important role in the immunity of the oral mucosa. Indeed, patients with IgA deficiency can experience recurring upper airway (tonsillitis, ear infection and sinusitis), lower airway (pneumonia) and gastrointestinal (diarrhea and parasitosis) infections. The investigation of mechanisms that can reduce the impact of malnutrition on the defenses of the organism is of the utmost important and interest to public health. Among such mechanisms, low-level laser therapy has demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of diverse conditions and disease through the promotion of the biomodulation of the cell metabolism and due to its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties with no mutagenic or photothermal effects.