IGF-I, leptin and active ghrelin levels in very low birth weight infants during the first 8 weeks of life.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the relationship between plasma insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), leptin, active ghrelin levels, and postnatal growth in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.


METHODS
Plasma IGF-I, leptin, and active ghrelin levels were measured at birth and at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks after birth in 61 VLBW infants, including 31 appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) and 30 small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants.


RESULTS
Insulin-like growth factor I levels were the lowest at birth, but increased gradually over the first 8 weeks of life. IGF-I was positively correlated with body weight, body length and body mass index at all time points. Leptin levels did not change over the study period. Ghrelin levels were significantly lower at birth; however, there were no significant differences between the levels after 2 weeks of age. Leptin and ghrelin levels were not correlated with anthropometrical measures. IGF-I levels at birth were significantly lower in SGA than in AGA infants, but the leptin and ghrelin levels were not significantly different between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Insulin-like growth factor I is related to length and weight gain in the prenatal and the early postnatal periods in VLBW infants, but this does not appear to be the case for leptin and ghrelin.
Ohkawa
N
N
Department of Pediatrics, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Shoji
H
H
Kitamura
T
T
Suganuma
H
H
Yoshikawa
N
N
Suzuki
M
M
Lee
T
T
Hisata
K
K
Shimizu
T
T
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001827:Body Height; D005260:Female; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000097:blood*; D006128:Growth / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age / Q000097:blood* / Q000254:growth & development; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000097:blood* / Q000254:growth & development; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000032:analysis*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015430:Weight Gain
D054439:Ghrelin; D020738:Leptin; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I