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Redox status in very-low birth-weight newborns

L Filippi1, A Messeri, C Dani

  • 1Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Critical Care Medicine, University Careggi Hospital, Florence, Italy. filippi.luca@virgilio.it

Biology of the Neonate
|January 7, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Redox status in very-low birth-weight infants reveals metabolic differences in intrauterine growth retardation. Nutritional type did not affect redox status, but intrauterine growth retardation was linked to altered glucose, ketone, lactate, and pyruvate levels.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Neonatology
  • Metabolic Disorders

Background:

  • Inborn errors of metabolism, including pyruvate metabolism and gluconeogenesis disorders, can cause lactic acidosis in newborns.
  • Assessing mitochondrial oxidation-reduction activity is crucial for screening these conditions.
  • Plasma lactate, pyruvate, and ketone body levels reflect redox status and are influenced by nutrition and stress.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the redox status in very-low birth-weight (VLBW) infants.
  • To determine if nutritional strategies impact redox status.
  • To investigate the relationship between redox status and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR).

Main Methods:

  • Simultaneous measurement of plasma lactate, pyruvate, and ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate).
  • Analysis of redox status in 55 VLBW infants under varying nutritional conditions (oral feeding vs. enteral nutrition).
  • Comparison of redox status parameters between infants with IUGR and appropriate for gestational age infants.

Main Results:

  • Redox status values were independent of nutritional type (oral vs. enteral).
  • Significant differences in redox status were observed between infants with IUGR and appropriate growth.
  • Infants with IUGR exhibited lower preprandial glucose and ketone bodies but higher lactate and pyruvate levels compared to appropriate growth infants.
  • Lactate/pyruvate and beta-hydroxybutyrate/acetoacetate ratios remained normal in IUGR infants.

Conclusions:

  • Redox status assessment is a valuable tool for evaluating metabolic function in VLBW infants.
  • IUGR in VLBW infants is associated with distinct alterations in glucose, ketone, lactate, and pyruvate metabolism.
  • Findings suggest potentially reduced gluconeogenesis and beta-oxidation activity in VLBW infants with IUGR.

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