Pediatric protein metabolism techniques - a review.

: Some invasive techniques could be safely and ethically applied to estimate protein metabolism in children. Although these methodologies provide valuable information on whole body protein metabolism, a reflection of what is happening to thousands of protein molecules across a variety of different tissues. However, they provide little information regarding the contribution of specific tissues and proteins to the whole-body changes observed (e.g., whether the increase in protein synthesis was a result of the muscle or splanchnic tissues) which might otherwise be determined in more invasive procedures such as those with muscle biopsies. Considering ethical constraints in pediatric research, it is not possible to perform stable isotope methods with concurrent muscle biopsies. The present review article enlightens the techniques in use for measurement of pediatric protein metabolism.