UB Pediatric Researchers To Conduct First Trial Of Ability Of Vitamin A To Boost Immune System In Premature Infants

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- University at Buffalo pediatric researchers have received a $1.2 million grant from the Institute for Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, to conduct the first clinical trial of vitamin A's potential to bolster the immune systems of very premature babies, an action that could help prevent potentially deadly infections.

The researchers will use antibody response to the hepatitis B vaccine, administered to all infants at about one month of age as an indicator of vitamin A's immune-boosting potential. Mark Ballow, M.D., UB professor of pediatrics and chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology and Pediatric Rheumatology at Children's Hospital of Kalida Health, will direct the study.

Ballow said vitamin A's role as a modulator of the immune function has been studied in both animals and humans, and results have shown that it is essential for supporting the immune system against infection.

"Despite many improvements in recent years in treating very-low-birthweight preterm infants, infection remains a major problem," Ballow said. "Preterm infants have lower levels of vitamin A in their blood and lower reserves in the liver than full-term infants. This deficiency could leave them susceptible to infection because of the immaturity of their immune system."

To test the hypothesis, infants delivered before 32 weeks of gestation will be assigned randomly to a group receiving vitamin A or a control group. Infants in the treatment group will receive 2,000 International Units (IUs) of a vitamin A preparation on the second day after birth and then on alternate days for 28 days. Control infants will receive saline solution. Ballow said the researchers hope to enroll about 50 babies per year during the four-year trial.

Researchers will begin monitoring immune response to the hepatitis B vaccine in both groups after the second and third doses are administered. "If we see an increase in antibody production and infection-fighting T-cells in the vitamin A group compared to the control group, we can conclude that vitamin A supplementation may be useful in boosting the immune systems of these very-low-birthweight babies," Ballow said.

Study participants will be followed for nine months to determine if supplementation in the neonatal intensive care unit affects the incidence and severity of infection throughout early infancy.

Vivien Carrion, M.D., and Linda Duffy, Ph.D., both of the UB Department of Pediatrics and Children's Hospital of Kalida Health, are co-principal investigators on the study.