Higher Dose of Vitamin D Increases Bone Density in Premature Babies

If the standard supplementation of 400 IUs of vitamin D is increased to 800 IUs daily there are reductions in the number of premature and preterm babies with extremely low bone density.

Higher Dose of Vitamin D Increases Bone Density in Premature Babies. Image credit: Fæ/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Results of a University of Nebraska Medical Center study found if the standard supplementation of 400 IUs of vitamin D is increased to 800 IUs daily there are reductions in the number of premature and preterm babies with extremely low bone density.

Physicians have been prescribing vitamin D in premature and preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to prevent rickets, a disease that causes soft, weak bones in children and is often associated with vitamin D deficiency. In spite of this, a sizeable number of infants still develop rickets.

Current recommendations of vitamin D supplementation for preterm infants span a wide range of doses, even among major medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Institute of Medicine, and the Endocrine Society. And response to vitamin D supplementation and impact on outcomes in preterm infants is not well understood.

The study provided more evidence in regards to bone health and ideal supplementation. The objective was to evaluate changes in vitamin D in the blood over four weeks in two groups of premature infants born between 24 to 32 weeks gestation. Researchers studied 32 infants at doses of 400 or 800 IU/day of vitamin D.

Researchers saw an improvement in bone density and vitamin D levels in the blood at four weeks. They also saw improvement in growth that significantly decreased the risk of infants having very low bone density. (Tasnim News Agency)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Common Household Chemicals Lead to Birth Defects in Mice

A connection between common household chemicals and birth defects has been uncovered by new research.

Early birth main cause of child death in Brazil

Brazil ranks tenth for preterm birth, with approximately 300 thousand premature babies every year—11.7% of the total births in the country. Most cases stem from teenage or late pregnancies, precarious prenatal care, or illnesses afflicting the mother.

Every cell has a story to tell in brain injury

Traumatic head injury can have widespread effects in the brain, but now scientists can look in real time at how head injury affects thousands of individual cells and genes simultaneously in mice.

Study identifies gene that makes gentle touch feel painful after injury

In a study of four patients with a rare genetic disorder, researchers found that PIEZO2, a gene previously shown to control our sense of our bodies in space and gentle touch, may also be responsible for tactile allodynia: the skin’s reaction to injury that makes normally gentle touches feel painful.

Waterlogged brain region helps scientists gauge damage caused by Parkinson’s disease

Scientists at the University of Florida have discovered a new method of observing the brain changes caused by Parkinson’s disease, which destroys neurons important for movement.

Excess Fat Disrupts Heart Cell's Energy System

A new study finds that lipid overload in heart cells, a common feature in diabetes and obesity, leads to misshapen mitochondria that don't produce energy efficiently.