New Study Demonstrates 4 Year Olds Fed Enfamil LIPIL(R) as Infants Have Brain and Eye Outcomes Similar to Breastfed Babies

Search Blogs that Mention this News Release
Click this link to view linked Bookmarking Services
Click this link to view linked Blogging Services
New Study Demonstrates 4 Year Olds Fed Enfamil LIPIL(R) as Infants Have Brain and Eye Outcomes Similar to Breastfed Babies
              Reinforces Importance of DHA/ARA in Infant Diet

    EVANSVILLE, Ind., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A recently
published study of 4 year olds who had been fed Enfamil LIPIL infant
formula exclusively for their first 17 weeks of life has become the
longest-term analysis of its kind to demonstrate breastfed-equivalent
visual and IQ outcomes among formula- fed infants.(1) The study, which
appeared in the journal Early Human Development, was funded by a grant from
the National Institutes of Health.
    "What this study means for parents is that we now have even longer-term
evidence that DHA and ARA supplementation at the levels in Enfamil LIPIL is
associated with visual acuity and brain development benefits similar to
breast milk," said Deborah Diersen-Schade, Ph.D., a research fellow at Mead
Johnson Nutritionals. Previously, brain and eye development outcomes
similar to breast milk had been followed in the same group of infants out
to 18 months of age.(2, 3)
    DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid) are nutrients
known as "long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA)" that are present
in breast milk.
    They are critical for development of the eyes, brain and central
nervous system. They begin accumulating in the infant's tissues during
gestation, especially during the third trimester. Recent evidence suggests
that they continue to support the development of visual acuity throughout
the first full year of life.(4)
    Dr. Diersen-Schade emphasized that the new study addresses two other
issues that are important for parents and physicians -- those issues being
DHA and ARA levels and control group outcomes.
    "The levels of DHA and ARA in Enfamil LIPIL were derived from our
evaluation of the levels of both nutrients in human milk worldwide," she
said. "The results that Dr. Birch and her colleagues obtained from this
analysis as well as earlier positive results from previous studies are
based on formulas with DHA at those levels. Researchers who have conducted
studies of infant formula that included lower levels have not consistently
demonstrated improved outcomes when compared with formula not containing
DHA and ARA." (5,6)
    Regarding control group outcomes, Diersen-Schade explained that the
recent Birch study, which enrolled infants born from 1993 to 1995, also
included a control group of infants who received Enfamil with Iron as it
was available at the time without DHA and ARA supplementation.
    "There were significant differences in visual acuity and verbal IQ
scores in the control group versus the breastfed group," she said. "That's
important; but what's meaningful is that the similar outcomes for Enfamil
LIPIL compared to breast milk were still observable at 4 years of age.
Equally interesting, the DHA and ARA group was fed Enfamil LIPIL for only
four months; yet their results were similar to infants who were breastfed
on average for 10 months."
    John Colombo, Ph.D., associate director for cognitive neuroscience and
professor of psychology at the University of Kansas, said that the Birch
study provides long-awaited data about the links between fatty acids in the
infant diet and measures of cognitive function, such as IQ. "Quite simply,
these data are the clearest evidence yet that show the beneficial effects
of LCPUFA on cognitive and intellectual development - and that LCPUFA
should be part of the nutritional regimen in early life," he said. "These
results suggest that formulas supplemented with these levels of LCPUFA
produce gains in cognitive and intellectual function over formulas without
these levels."
    About Mead Johnson
    Mead Johnson Nutritionals is a world leader in nutrition, dedicated to
helping provide infants and children with the best start in life. Mead
Johnson Nutritionals is a Bristol-Myers Squibb company.
    References
    1. Birch EE et al. Visual acuity and cognitive outcomes at 4 years of age
       in a double-blind, randomized trial of long-chain polyunsaturated
       fatty-acid supplemented infant formula. Early Hum Dev (2007), doi:
       10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2006.11.003

    2. Birch EE et al. A randomized controlled trial of early dietary supply
       of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and mental development in
       term infants. Dev Med Child Neurol (2000); 42:174-81.

    3. Hoffman DR, et al. Maturation of visual and mental function in 18-month
       old infants receiving dietary long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.
       FASEB J (2003); 17: A727-A728.

    4. Morale SE et al. Duration of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids
       availability in the diet and visual acuity. Early Hum Dev (2005); 81,
       197-203.

    5. Auestad N et al. Visual, cognitive, and language assessments at 39
       months: a follow-up study of children fed formulas containing
       long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids to 1 year of age. Pediatrics
       (2003); 112: 177-83

    6. Scott DT. Formula supplementation with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty
       acids: are there developmental benefits? Pediatrics (1998); 102: 59.
       (Electronic publication.)
SOURCE Mead Johnson
http://www.bms.com
CONTACT:
Gail Wood, +1-812-429-5703,
gail.wood@bms.com, for Mead Johnson