Amino acid homeostasis in the preterm infant.

Functional outcome of preterm infants is highly related to the quality and quantity of nutrients provided during the first few weeks of life. New guidelines, as published by the ESPGHAN in 2010, have provided means to prevent undernutrition in the NICU. Especially proteins and amino acids seem to play a pivotal role, and the optimal regimen has not yet been determined. New data on the intrauterine nutrient supply suggest a high amino acid intake during the fetal period. How these results might translate into improvement of especially neurocognitive outcome needs to be investigated.