Amino acid-enriched plant-based RUTF treatment was not inferior to peanut-milk RUTF treatment in restoring plasma amino acid levels among patients with oedematous or non-oedematous malnutrition.

Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) with adequate quality protein is used to treat children with oedematous and non-oedematous severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The plasma amino acid (AA) profile reflects the protein nutritional status; hence, its assessment during SAM treatment is useful in evaluating AA delivery from RUTFs. The objective was to evaluate the plasma AAs during the treatment of oedematous and non-oedematous SAM in community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) using amino acid-enriched plant-based RUTFs with 10% milk (MSMS-RUTF) or without milk (FSMS-RUTF) compared to peanut milk RUTF (PM-RUTF).

Soya, maize and sorghum ready-to-use therapeutic foods are more effective in correcting anaemia and iron deficiency than the standard ready-to-use therapeutic food: randomized controlled trial.

Background: The prevalence of anaemia and iron deficiency (ID) among children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and their correction during nutritional rehabilitation are not well documented. This study assessed anaemia and ID prevalence and their predictors at start of SAM treatment, and the efficacy of their treatment and effect on gut health of two novel Ready-To-Use Therapeutic foods (RUTF) prepared from soybean, maize and sorghum (SMS) with (MSMS-RUTF) or without added milk (FSMS-RUTF) compared to those of the standard formulation prepared from peanut and milk (PM-RUTF).

Methods: This was a 3-arms parallel groups, simple randomised, controlled non-inferiority trial in 6-59 months old Central Malawian children with SAM.

Amino-acid-enriched cereals ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) are as effective as milk-based RUTF in recovering essential amino acid during the treatment of severe acute malnutrition in children: An individually randomized control trial in Malawi.

Background: Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is used to treat children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Standard RUTF uses milk as the primary protein source, which makes the product expensive, and given the high worldwide SAM burden, having a less expensive effective alternative is a public health priority.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether newly developed amino acid-enriched milk-free RUTF (FSMS-RUTF) or amino acid-enriched low-milk RUTF (MSMS-RUTF) treatment could replenish plasma amino acids to levels comparable to those following standard peanut-milk RUTF (PM-RUTF) treatment and to improve understanding of the effects of treatment on anthropometric measurements.

Soya, maize, and sorghum-based ready-to-use therapeutic food with amino acid is as efficacious as the standard milk and peanut paste-based formulation for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition in children: a noninferiority individually randomized controlled efficacy clinical trial in Malawi.

Development of more cost-effective ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is a global public health priority. To date, previous lower-cost recipes have been less effective than the standard peanut and milk (PM)-based RUTF, particularly in children aged <24 mo. We aimed to compare the efficacy of the PM-RUTF to a milk-free soya, maize, and sorghum (FSMS)-RUTF enriched with crystalline amino acids without cow milk powder and a milk, soya, maize, and sorghum (MSMS)-RUTF containing 9.

Safety and practicability of using mid-upper arm circumference as a discharge criterion in community based management of severe acute malnutrition in children aged 6 to 59 months programmes.

Background: The use of proportional weight gain as a discharge criterion for MUAC admissions to programs treating severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is no longer recommended by WHO. The critical limitation with the proportional weight gain criterion was that children who are most severely malnourished tended to receive shorter treatment compared to less severely malnourished children. Studies have shown that using a discharge criterion of MUAC ≥ 125 mm eliminates this problem but concerns remain over the duration of treatment required to reach this criterion and whether this discharge criterion is safe.

Relationship between mid upper arm circumference and weight changes in children aged 6-59 months.

Background: The objectives of this study were to (i) describe the relationship between weight changes and MUAC changes in children aged between 6 and 59 months during treatment for SAM in CMAM programmes in three country contexts (Malawi, Ethiopia and Bangladesh) admitted using MUAC and (ii) describe the sensitivity of both MUAC and weight to episodes of disease experienced during the SAM treatment episodes in CMAM programmes in three country contexts (Malawi, Ethiopia and Bangladesh) admitted using MUAC.

Methods: Data collected under research conditions in Malawi were analysed for the correlation between MUAC and weight changes using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (Pearson's r). Further data from other CMAM programmes implemented under field conditions in Ethiopia and Bangladesh were similarly analysed.