Newborn calcium metabolism

Partial results of studies of normal newborns and children with abnormalities of calcium metabolism are given ... 

PN solutions therefore may need to be modified by clinicians to provide supplemental amounts of CEAAs. Cysteine is a CEAA in preterm and term infants that may be added to PN solutions at the time of compounding. An additional benefit of including cysteine is that it enhances calcium and phosphate solubility in PN solutions by decreasing the solution s pH. Carnitine is a qnarternary amine required for transport of free fatty acids into the mitochondria for beta-oxidation and energy prodnction. Newborns are at risk for carnitine deficiency becanse of their immature synthetic and conservation mechanisms. Decreased plasma carnitine concentrations are associated with impaired lipid metabolism in patients receiving intravenous lipid emulsion (TVLE). ... 

Orotic acid is bound in the serum to proteins [436] and is metabolized in the liver [433]. The binding of orotic acid to serum proteins in children and adults receiving the drug orally at 80 mg/kg bodyweight per day for 28 days was less than 1% [437]. Maximal serum concentrations of orotic acid were attained 2-5 hours after intake and showed great individual variations, ranging from 0.8 to 10 xg per ml. On the other hand, the half-times for disappearance of orotic acid from the serum were about 1 hour and were more uniform [437]. The resorption of orotate was also followed in newborn infants [438], simultaneously with the level of enzyme activities in blood serum [439,440]. In connection with the anti-inflammatory effect of calcium orotate, [441] the calcium and phosphate metabolism in the treated patients was measured [442,443]. 

The metabolism of newborn infants during their first week of life is characterized by an increased breakdown of nucleoproteins leading to transient hyperuricemia and hyperuricosuria which is particularly enhanced in infants with hemolytic diseases. Furthermore, there are physiologically considerable changes in the concentration of calcium in the blood of newborns. 

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