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Lipid Intake and Neurodevelopment in Preterm Infants

Katherine M Ottolini1, Nickie Andescavage2,3, Catherine Limperopoulos3,4

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD.

Neoreviews
|June 2, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Early lipid intake in preterm infants is crucial for brain development. Quantitative MRI shows positive effects on brain volume and white matter organization by term-equivalent age.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal nutrition
  • Neurodevelopmental science
  • Medical imaging

Background:

  • Preterm infants miss third-trimester lipid accretion critical for brain development.
  • Dietary lipids are vital energy sources and crucial for central nervous system development.
  • Traditional neurodevelopmental testing has limitations in assessing early brain development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of early nutrition on preterm infant brain development.
  • To investigate the role of dietary lipids in central nervous system development.
  • To assess novel quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in tracking neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques.
  • Evaluating early lipid intake and nutritional interventions.
  • Assessing brain volumes and white matter microstructural organization.

Main Results:

  • Inconsistent effects observed from long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation trials.
  • Quantitative MRI suggests positive impacts of early lipid intake.
  • Improvements noted in brain volumes and white matter organization by term-equivalent age.

Conclusions:

  • Early lipid intake positively influences preterm brain development.
  • Quantitative MRI is a valuable tool for assessing nutritional intervention effects.
  • Further research is needed to optimize lipid-based nutritional strategies for preterm infants.

Keywords:
ARABSIDBayley Scale of Infant DevelopmentDHADTIFALCPUFAMRIROPSMOF-LETEAVEPVLBWaEEGamplitude-integrated encephalographyand fish oil lipid emulsionarachidonic aciddiffusion tensor imagingdocosahexaenoic acidfractional anisotropylong-chain polyunsaturated fatty acidsmagnetic resonance imagingmedium-chain triglyceridesolive oilretinopathy of prematuritysoybean oilterm-equivalent agevery low birthweightvisual evoked potentials

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