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Plasma gastrin and somatostatin levels in infants during the first four postnatal days
G Marchini1, B Persson, K Uvnäs-Moberg
1Department of Pediatrics KS-St. Göran, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Newborn hormone levels change rapidly. Gastrin decreases initially due to low milk intake, then rises with lactation, while somatostatin increases with age, reflecting infant metabolic status.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal physiology
- Endocrinology
- Metabolic regulation
Background:
- Hormonal changes in newborns are critical for adaptation.
- Understanding gastrin and somatostatin dynamics is key to infant metabolism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure plasma gastrin and somatostatin levels in healthy term infants.
- To correlate these hormone levels with metabolic status (body weight, glucose, FFA, D-beta-hydroxybutyrate).
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 94 healthy term infants during the first four days of life.
- Measurement of plasma gastrin and somatostatin concentrations.
- Assessment of body weight, plasma glucose, free fatty acids (FFA), and D-beta-hydroxybutyrate.
Main Results:
- Gastrin levels decreased from day 1 to day 3, then increased by day 4 (P < 0.05).
- Somatostatin concentrations significantly increased from day 1 to day 4 (P < 0.01) and correlated with postnatal age (P < 0.0001).
- Infant catabolic state was indicated by weight loss, decreased glucose, and increased FFA and D-beta-hydroxybutyrate.
Conclusions:
- Decreased gastrin likely relates to low initial breast milk intake.
- Increased gastrin on day 4 suggests improved milk availability with established lactation.
- Somatostatin release mechanisms require further investigation.
Abstract:
This study was designed to measure plasma gastrin and somatostatin levels in infants and to simultaneously investigate the infants' metabolic status as reflected by the body weight as well as by the blood levels of FFA, D-beta-hydroxybutyrate and glucose. Healthy infants (n = 94) who were born at term were studied cross-sectionally during their first four days of life. We found that the gastrin concentration (mean +/- SD) on the first day of life was 118 +/- 37 pmol/l. Subsequently the concentration decreased and reached its lowest value on the third day; 94 +/- 27 pmol/l (P less than 0.05). On the fourth day the mean concentration increased to the same level as on the first day. There was a significant (P less than 0.01) increase in somatostatin concentrations from 18 +/- 6 pmol/l on the first day to 26 +/- 7 pmol/l on the fourth day and the concentrations were highly related (P less than 0.0001) to postnatal age. We conclude that the decrease in gastrin concentration is probably related to the low volume of breast milk ingested during the first days after delivery, and therefore to the low secretory activity of the gastrin-producing cells. The infants' catabolic condition during that time was evidenced by the reduction in body weight, the decrease in plasma glucose level and the increase in FFA and D-beta-hydroxybutyrate levels. The gastrin increase found on the fourth day reflects most likely, the change in breast milk availability which occurs with the establishment of lactation. The mechanisms controlling the release of somatostatin remains to be established.