Research paper
A double-blind, placebo-controlled, glutamine-supplementation trial in growth-faltering Gambian infants.
Study answer
What this study found
Glutamine did not improve growth, intestinal permeability, plasma immune markers, or morbidity versus placebo, and the authors concluded that mass supplementation is unlikely to improve growth or health in this setting. Weight gain was 60 Ȁ 19 g/mo in the glutamine group versus 69 Ȁ 20 g/mo with placebo, and length gain was 1.01 Ȁ 0.05 cm/mo versus 0.95 Ȁ 0.03 cm/mo. Intestinal permeability and inflammatory markers were also similar overall; the lactulose-mannitol ratio at end of treatment was 0.29 (0.23, 0.35) versus 0.26 (0.21, 0.32), and CRP was 1.70 (1.01, 2.85) versus 2.16 (1.33, 2.85).…
- Study & population
- Double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial in growth-faltering, malnourished Gambian infants aged 4 to 11 months from six villages in West Kiang, The Gambia.
- Intervention
- Oral glutamine powder was given to the active arm twice daily for 5 to 6 months during the rainy season, mixed with expressed breast milk or distilled water.
- Key limitation
- Small single-region infant sample and a setting-specific rainy-season cohort limit generalizability.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Growth faltering during infancy is a characteristic of life in developing countries. Previous studies have shown that small-intestine mucosal enteropathy, accompanied by endotoxemia and a persistent systemic inflammatory response, accounts…