Early-life gut microbiota and neurodevelopment in preterm infants: any role for Bifidobacterium?

Despite the well-recognized importance of proper gut microbiota assembly for the child's future health, the connections between the early-life gut microbiota and neurocognitive development in humans have not been thoroughly explored so far. In this pilot observational study, we aimed to unveil the relation between dynamic succession of the gut microbiota in very low birth weight infants during the first month of life and their neurodevelopment, assessed at 24-month corrected age. According to our data, the early-life gut microbiota of preterm infants with normal vs. impaired neurodevelopment followed distinct temporal trajectories with peculiar compositional rearrangements. In this context, early Bifidobacterium deficiency appears to be a negative biomarker of adverse neurological outcomes.

Our data might pave the way for future in-depth studies focusing on the potential impact of bifidobacteria or specific microbiota patterns on neonatal neurodevelopment and lay the foundation for microbiome-based clinical practices to modulate altered profiles and improve long-term health.

• Preterm infants are at increased risk for adverse neurological outcomes and gut microbiota dysbiosis. • The gut microbiota and the nervous system share critical developmental windows in early life.

• The absence of Bifidobacterium at 30 days of life in preterm infants is associated with neurodevelopmental impairment in early childhood. • The administration of Bifidobacterium strains could promote optimal neurocognitive development in fragile infants.