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Plasma motilin, gastrin, and enteroglucagon and feeding in the human newborn
Insights
Early enteral feeding in newborns stimulates a significant rise in gut hormones like motilin and gastrin. This postnatal increase is crucial for physiological adaptation to nutrition after birth.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal physiology
- Gastroenterology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Gut hormones play a vital role in infant development and physiological adaptation.
- Understanding the regulation of these hormones post-birth is critical for neonatal care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the plasma concentrations of motilin, gastrin, and enteroglucagon in healthy term and preterm infants.
- To determine the impact of early enteral feeding on these gut hormone levels.
- To explore the role of gut hormones in neonatal nutritional adaptation.
Main Methods:
- Measurement of plasma concentrations of motilin, gastrin, and enteroglucagon.
- Study included 45 term and 63 preterm infants, with cord blood and early postnatal samples.
- Comparison between enterally fed infants and those receiving only intravenous dextrose.
Main Results:
- Plasma hormone levels (motilin, gastrin, enteroglucagon) significantly increased after birth in fed infants.
- Hormone concentrations in neonates were higher than in fasting adults.
- Infants receiving only intravenous dextrose did not show these increases.
Conclusions:
- Early enteral nutrition appears to trigger the postnatal surge in gut hormone concentrations.
- This hormonal response is likely essential for physiological adjustments to extrauterine nutrition.
- Findings highlight the importance of early feeding for neonatal development.
Abstract:
Plasma concentrations of motilin, gastrin, and enteroglucagon were measured in cord blood and during the first 24 days of life before feeding in 45 term and 63 preterm, healthy infants. Levels of these hormones rose steeply after birth, reaching concentrations that were much higher than those in fasting adults. These increases in hormone concentration were not present in a group of 10 preterm infants who had received only intravaenous dextrose from birth because of hyaline membrane disease. Our findings suggest that early enteral feeding may trigger the postnatal increase in plasma concentrations of gut hormones and that this could play an important role in the physiologaical adaptations to extrauterine nutrition.