N4 Nutrition

Preterm infants are at high risk of malnutrition, even in modern neonatal intensive care units. Very low birth weight infants (< 1500 g) are at high risk of general malnutrition (protein, energy, micronutrients). Late preterm infants and term infants with marginally low birth weight (2000-2500 g) have high risk of iron deficiency. Our research on preterm infants has resulted in improved clinical care.

Nutrition is essential for growth and development throughout childhood, but deficiencies of macronutrients and micronutrients are still common in certain populations (e.g. socioeconomically disadvantaged) and risk groups (e.g. preterm or low birth weight infants). We have used iron as a model nutrient in order to identify the nutritional and metabolic pathways linking nutrition and brain development in infants.

The N4 Research Group has a focus on pediatric nutrition research and the research has had significant impact on clinical practice and child health in Sweden, Europe and the USA.

NIron Research

Iron is an essential nutrient which is required for oxygen transport and energy metabolism in many organs, not least the brain. However, iron is also a potent pro-oxidant which may increase the risk of infections and inflammatory disorders and affect the gut microbiome.

We have used iron as a model nutrient in order to identify the nutritional and metabolic pathways linking nutrition and brain development in infants.

In addition to studying the clinical effects of iron in intervention studies, we are also using our research lab to explore novel markers of iron metabolism in children, such as hepcidin and erythroferrone.


The N4 Iron Group

Researchers
  • Magnus Domellöf
  • Anna Chmielewska
  • Maria Björmsjö*
  • Olle Hernell
  • Staffan Berglund*

* PhD students who have graduated in the project.

PhD Students
  • Ludwig Svensson
  • Stina Alm
External Researchers
  • Bo Lönnerdal, UC Davis
  • Marie Larsson, Lund*
  • Ola Andersson, Lund*

Preterm

Preterm infants are at high risk of malnutrition, even in modern neonatal intensive care units. Very low birth weight infants (< 1500 g) are at high risk of general malnutrition (protein, energy, micronutrients). Late preterm infants and term infants with marginally low birth weight (2000-2500 g) have high risk of iron deficiency. Our research on preterm infants has resulted in improved clinical care.

Research projects

The N4 Preterm Team!

Researchers
  • Magnus Domellöf
  • Elisabeth Stoltz Sjöström*
  • Cornelia Späth*
  • Erik Domellöf
  • Fredrik Nylén
  • Itay Zamir*
  • Karin Brunnegård
  • Kotryna Simonyte
  • Magdalena Sjöberg
  • Marlene Sandlund
  • Niklas Timby
  • Ulrika Widding

    *PhD students who have graduated in the project.

PhD Students
  • Malin Bergman Papworth
  • Pontus Challis
  • Sara Olivecrona
  • Stina Alm
 
National collaborations
  • Aijaz Farooqi, Umeå/Göteborg
  • Anders Elfvin, Göteborg
  • Ann Hellström, Göteborg
  • Christian Gadsböll, Malmö
  • David Ley, Lund
  • Fredrik Serenius, Uppsala
  • Fredrik Ahlsson, Uppsala
  • Ingrid Pupp, Lund
  • Karin Källén, Lund
  • Karin Sävman, Göteborg
  • Lars Björklund, Lund
  • Lars Naver, Karolinska
  • Lena Westas, Uppsala
  • Maria-Teresia Svanvik, Göteborg
  • Michaela Granfors, Stockholm
  • Mikael Norman, KI
  • Petra Um Bergström, KI
  • Thomas Abrahamsson, Linköping
  • Stellan Håkansson, SNQ
  • Ulrika Ådén, KI
  • Verena Sengpiel, Göteborg

NNeurodevelopment Research

Cognitive problems (e.g. learning disorders, developmental delay) or behavioural disorders (including ADHD and autism spectrum disorders) affect approximately 20% of children. The pathogenesis of these disorders is not clear but it is of great public health interest to identify environmental or lifestyle factors that can reduce the risk of cognitive and behavioural disorders in children. Preventing nutritional deficiencies may be an important factor in this context. The brain is the fastest growing organ from the third trimester of pregnancy up to 3 years of life, when it has reached 85% of the adult size. Nutrition during the fetal period and the first two years of life (the first 1000 days) is critical for normal brain development during the very sensitive stages of neural proliferation, migration, myelination and synapse formation. Our research focus is to find associations between early nutritional and other environmental factors on brain growth and development during pregnancy/gestation and the first years of life, and to find effective interventions for preventing cognitive and behavioral problems in children.

The N4 Research Group has a large focus on pediatric nutrition research and the research has had significant impact on clinical practice and child health in Sweden, Europe and the USA.

Research Topics

The N4 Brain Trust

Researchers

  • Magnus Domellöf
  • Anna Chmielewska
  • Christina West
  • Cornelia Späth*
  • Elisabeth Stoltz Sjöström*
  • Erik Domellöf
  • Itay Zamir*
  • Josefine Starnberg*
  • Niklas Timby*
  • Olle Hernell
  • Staffan Berglund*

* PhD students who have graduated in the project.

PhD Students

  • Eleni Kordi, Malmö
  • Sara Olivecrona
  • Malin Bergman Papworth

External Researchers

  • Bo Lönnerdal, UC Davis
  • Caroline Lilliecreutz, Linköping
  • Helena Filipsson, Göteborg
  • Lena Westas, Uppsala
  • Ola Andersson, Lund*
  • Pia Åkeson Karlsland, Malmö

N4 Breast Milk and Infant Formula

Breast milk is the optimal food for young infants and is associated to improved neurodevelopment and reduced risk of infections. Still, a small proportion of infants (about 10% in Sweden) are not able to breastfeed and infant formula has been developed to cover the nutritional needs for these infants. Breast milk contains a large number of bioactive components which are not present in infant formula.

An important aim for the N4 Research Group is to identify bioactive components that may be added to infant formula in order to achieve health outcomes similar to breast-fed infants. We have recently shown in the TUMME study that addition of milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) to infant formula improves cognitive development and reduces the risk of infections in infants. This is now further pursued in a follow-up study (TUMME UPP).

The ATLAS study is an international multicentre study aiming to characterize important bioactive components in breast milk (e.g. human milk oligosaccharides) and to investigate possible associations between maternal diet and breast milk composition.

N-FORTE is a randomized, controlled trial, where we are testing whether a human milk-based fortifier (vs. a regular cow’s milk-based fortifier) reduces the risk of NEC, sepsis and death in extremely preterm infants.

GRANDIOSA is a randomized, controlled trial examining two new partially hydrolysed infant formulae and how they affect children's growth, neurological development, bowel function and allergies.