Early Lipid Intake Improves Cerebellar Growth in Very Low-Birth-Weight Preterm Infants

Area of Science:

• Neonatal nutrition
• Neurodevelopmental outcomes
• Pediatric neuroimaging

Background:

• Preterm infants face high growth restriction risk despite NICU advances.
• Optimal macronutrient, especially lipid, intake for preterm infants is not fully established.
• Cerebellar development is critical for long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between early macronutrient intake and brain development in preterm infants.
• To determine the impact of lipid, carbohydrate, protein, and energy intake on brain volumes.
• To establish optimal nutritional strategies for improving neurodevelopmental outcomes in VLBW infants.

Main Methods:

• Studied very low-birth weight (VLBW, <1500 g) preterm infants (≤32 weeks' gestation).
• Assessed cumulative macronutrient intake (carbohydrate, lipid, protein, energy) in the first 2 and 4 weeks of life.
• Correlated nutrient intake with brain volumes using MRI at term-equivalent age in infants without structural brain injury.

Main Results:

• Early cumulative lipid intake (first 2 weeks) positively associated with greater cerebellar volume (P = .01).
• Cumulative lipid and energy intake (first 4 weeks) associated with larger cerebellar volumes (P = .01 and P = .02, respectively).
• No significant association found between carbohydrate or protein intake and cerebral volume.

Conclusions:

• Early cumulative lipid intake in the first month is linked to increased cerebellar volume in very premature infants.
• Findings highlight the importance of early, aggressive nutritional interventions for optimizing cerebellar development.
• Optimizing lipid intake may be a key strategy to enhance neurodevelopmental outcomes in VLBW infants.