Nutritional support with nucleotide addition favors immune response in severely malnourished infants.
BACKGROUND
Adequate nutritional support of severe primary protein energy malnutrition (PEM) is indispensable for achieving normal immune response. However, an ideal dietetic criterion has not yet been established or accepted by the majority of health professionals caring for malnourished infants. Our objective was to demonstrate improvement in immune response in infants with PEM who received starting infant formula with nucleotides.


METHODS
Twelve malnourished infants 3-18 months of age were included in our study and were fed through a nasogastric tube with infant formula (3.35 kJ/mL) for 2 weeks and ad libitum for an additional 2 weeks. Anthropometric measurements and immunologic indicators such as phagocytosis, microbicidal activity, chemotaxis, and cell proliferation index were determined. The sample was divided into two groups; group 1 (n=6) was fed formula with nucleotides added, while group 2 (n=6) was fed a formula with no nucleotides. Paired t test was used to determine differences between initial and final results for each group for comparison between group 1 vs. group 2; a nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test was used for immunologic indicators.


RESULTS
Comparison of immunologic indicators showed no significant difference between groups. Groups 1 and 2 showed improvement in phagocytosis and microbicidal activity (p <0.05) and group 2 additionally showed improvement in cell proliferation index.


CONCLUSIONS
Infant formula with intake of 837 kJ/kg/d (200 kcal/kg/d) and proteins of 4 g/kg/d in infants with PEM had a favorable impact on immunologic indicators regardless of addition of nucleotides.
Instituto de Nutrición Humana, Departamento de Reproducción Humana, Crecimiento y Desarrollo Infantil, 44340 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Edgar
E
Vásquez-Garibay
Concepción
C
Méndez-Estrada
Enrique
E
Romero-Velarde
Ma Trinidad
MT
García-Iglesias
Octavio
O
Campollo-Rivas
D004032:Diet; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000502:physiology*; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D009711:Nucleotides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018529:Nutritional Support; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition; D015430:Weight Gain
D009711:Nucleotides