High-Dose Neonatal Vitamin A Supplementation Transiently Decreases Thymic Function in Early Infancy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) impairs T-cell-mediated immunity. In regions where VAD is prevalent, vitamin A supplementation (VAS) reduces child mortality, perhaps by improving immune function.

Objective

Our objective was to determine if neonatal VAS would improve thymic function in Bangladeshi infants, and to determine if such effects differed by sex or nutritional status (i.e., birth weight above/below the median).

Methods

Three hundred and six infants were randomly assigned to 50,000 IU vitamin A (VA) or placebo (PL) within 48 h of birth. Primary outcomes were measured at multiple ages and included 1) thymic index (TI) at 1, 6, 10, and 15 wk; 2) T-cell receptor excision circles (TREC), an index of thymic output of naïve T cells; and 3) total/naïve T cells i

SUBMITTER: Ahmad SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6946900 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature