A study headed by Silvia Romero Maldonado, researcher at the National Institute of Perinatology (INPer), are testing the use of vitamin E to reduce or prevent retinopathy in premature infants in Mexico.
In a statement published by the National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT), she explains that a dose of vitamin E was applied to 36 patients who were treated at the INPer’s facilities, one of 12 highly specialized health institutes in Mexico.
According to Romero Maldonado, literature reports that vitamin E significant decreases retinopathy in premature children. However, several years ago its usage was stopped because its dose caused sepsis and enterocolitis.
“Vitamin E is able to reduce retinopathy. However, is a subject that hadn’t been addressed because the dose in the United States generated intestinal problems in children, and thus, an infection,” she said.
The researcher and her team of specialists in pharmacology and ophthalmology performed a clinical trial in 27 newborns and a control group to observe the results of vitamin E supplemented in milk in premature children. Unlike previous studies, they applied a different dosage of vitamin E to the common presentation in the United States.
“What we did was measuring vitamin E levels in children, with the permission of their parents, and analyzing how we were able help the premature to reduce retinopathy. This vitamin has the ability to protect the lipid layer of the retina. Our results suggest that it helps reduce retinopathy of prematurity,” she said.
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants. The smaller a baby is at birth, the more likely the baby develops ROP. This disorder that usually develops in both eyes is one of the most common causes of visual loss in childhood.
ROP affects the blood vessels of the immature retina, occurring a few weeks after birth. First, it stops retinal blood vessels growth, and then causes their abnormal maturation and formation, which may result in scarring and retinal detachment.
According to the researcher, the baby exposed to inadequate oxygenation is the main reason why ROP develops. Blood vessels appear to be very sensitive to the amount of oxygen supplied, causing oxidative stress in the baby’s retina.
Oxidative stress, Maldonado Romero explained, occurs when there is an imbalance among the molecules of our body caused by free radicals increase, which are responsible for the development of various diseases such as obesity, diabetes, lung disease and retinopathy.
Adults, unlike premature babies, have antioxidants like glutathione, selenium, zinc, vitamin A, among others, that help counteract oxygen free radicals in the body. However, premature babies do not have these antioxidants or have them in smaller quantities, so oxygen free radicals are not controlled causing damage to their retina.
Vitamin E is an important component, when applied in the correct dose. It will prevent free radicals of oxygen reproduce in large quantities, and thereby will prevent detachment of the retina, Maldonado Romero said.
Maldonado Romero, also member of the Mexican Academy of Pediatrics, added that there are antioxidants for children and adults, but not for premature babies. This is why one of the primary objectives of her project is to develop a set of antioxidants for this sector.
The results of this study, conducted for the first time in Mexico, were already sent to the Journal of Perinatal Medicine for publication.
Source: Notimex
