Northern infant syndrome: a deficiency state?

• Main Authors: Godel, J C, Hart, A G
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1984
• Subjects: Research Article; Arctic; Indian; inuit
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1483275; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6547633

A syndrome is described that affected 16 Indian and Inuit infants roughly 3 months old, most of whom were born in settlements in the Canadian Arctic. The infants presented with a clinical picture that included hepatitis, hemolytic anemia, rickets and respiratory distress, a combination that resembled a syndrome first described in malnourished infants at the turn of the century by von Jaksch and Luzet. The clinical course was self-limited, and all the infants survived without sequelae. The cause of the syndrome was not determined; no infectious agents were discovered. However, low levels of vitamins A, C, D and E were found in a few infants in whom assays were done. The implications of these findings and their relation to the possible cause of this "northern infant syndrome" are discussed.