Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) affects some 10,000 infants annually in the United States and more than 90 percent are formula-fed before onset of NEC. At greatest risk are small, premature infants and infants fed concentrated formulas. Estimates of mortality vary widely, as much as 40 percent. Although there is no effective treatment, the incidence of NEC among formula-fed babies is estimated at six to 10 times higher than breast-fed babies, indicating important direct benefits of mother's milk.
"Using a neonatal animal model of NEC, we have shown that when EGF is added to formula, the incidence of NEC decreases by 50 percent, compared to animals fed formula alone," says Jessica A. Clark, PhD candidate and lead author on a research paper presented at the 35th Congress of the International Union of Physiological Sciences in San Diego, March 31 - April 5, 2005.
"Under conditions designed to induce NEC in neonatal rats, we found that EGF treatment alters the balance of cell death and cell survival genes so that neonatal intestinal cells are able to survive, short-circuiting the usual NEC progression, thus enabling normal intestinal growth," says Bohuslav Dvorak, PhD, research associate professor in the UA Department of Pediatrics and principal investigator on the research project.
"The most exciting finding was that EGF treatment altered the balance of cell death and cell survival gene expression such that the intestinal cells are able to survive," Dr. Dvorak explained. "In other words, we saw that EGF protects the intestine from developing NEC. Therefore, supplementing commercially available infant formula with EGF may be one way to prevent NEC in human babies."
The complete team includes: Jessica A. Clark, Tara A. Saunders, Sarah M. Doelle, Hana Holubec, Robert H. Lane, Melissa D. Halpern and Bohuslav Dvorak, Steele Children's Research Center in the UA Department of Pediatrics.
