PEDIATRICS Vol. 71 No. 2 February 1983, pp. 171-178
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Järvenpää, A.-L.
Right arrow Articles by Gaull, G. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Järvenpää, A.-L.
Right arrow Articles by Gaull, G. E.

Feeding the Low-Birth-Weight Infant: I. Taurine and Cholesterol Supplementation of Formula Does Not Affect Growth and Metabolism

Anna-Liisa Järvenpää MD1, Niels C. R. Räihä MD1, David K. Rassin PhD1, and Gerald E. Gaull MD1

1 From the Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki, Finland and Department of Human Development and Nutrition, Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York

Taurine and cholesterol are constituents of human milk that are present in smaller amounts in infant formulas. Infants fed such formulas have lower plasma and urine concentrations of taurine and of serum total cholesterol. In the present investigation, in infants of 31 to 36 weeks gestational age, the effects of supplementing a 1.5 g/100 mL whey-predominant formula with taurine alone or with taurine plus cholesterol were examined. Infants fed the supplemented formula were compared with infants fed the unsupplemented formula and with infants fed pooled, expressed human milk (185 mL/kg/d). Approximately 45% of the human milk provided to each infant was that of the infant's mother (35% pasteurized and 10% fresh). From the time of reaching a weight of 2,400 g to 4 months of age the last group of infants was fed ad libitum. No consistent statistically significant differences in growth, as measured by rate of gain in crown-rump length, crown-heel length, or head circumference, were observed. There was a tendency, however, for the formula-fed infants to gain weight more slowly before reaching 2,400 g and to gain weight more quickly after a weight of 2,400 g was attained to 4 months of age. No differences in concentrations of BUN, total serum proteins or acid-base status were observed among the formula-fed groups. The concentration of BUN increased in the formula-fed groups compared with the group fed human milk during the last half of the study. The formula-fed infants tended to have higher total serum proteins and to be slightly more acidotic than the infants fed human milk prior to discharge at a weight of 2,400 g but not thereafter. Thus, infants fed 185 mL/kg/d gained weight at rates comparable to those for fetuses of the same gestational age. Supplementation of formulas with taurine or taurine plus cholesterol did not produce changes in growth or general metabolism discernible under the present experimental conditions.

Key Words: low-birth-weight infant • formula • human milk • taurine • cholesterol

Submitted on March 11, 1982
Accepted on July 15, 1982




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
I. Minoli and N. C. Raiha
Effects of Two Different Doses of Amino Acid Supplementation on Growth and Blood Amino Acid Levels in Premature Neonates Admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
Pediatrics, March 1, 2008; 121(3): 655 - 656.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Nutr.Home page
W. C. Heird
Progress in Promoting Breast-Feeding, Combating Malnutrition, and Composition and Use of Infant Formula, 1981-2006
J. Nutr., February 1, 2007; 137(2): 499S - 502S.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child.Home page
C. MORLEY
Diagnostic value of tachypnoea
Arch. Dis. Child., June 1, 2000; 82(6): 503a - 503.
[Full Text]