Observational studyEuropean journal of pediatrics2022
Early-life gut microbiota and neurodevelopment in preterm infants: any role for Bifidobacterium?
Observational study in European journal of pediatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 37 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Growth and neuro-developmental outcomes of probiotic supplemented preterm infants-a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Synbiotic supplementation leads to gut microbiome communities with functional capacity linked to better brain white matter development in preterm infants.Gut microbes · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Meconium Microbiome Maturation Patterns Linked to Postnatal Growth Failure in Neonates.Nutrients · 2026Article
- From microbes to milestones: Gut bacterial abundances and functional pathways associate with neurodevelopment following preterm birth.Gut microbiology · 2026Article
- Article
- The gut microbiome shapes social behaviour across animal species.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Disrupted gut microbiome networks and unhealthy behaviors predict metabolic dysfunction in children and adolescents in the long term.iScience · 2026Article
- Gut microbiota-derived EPA alleviates neuroinflammation associated with white matter injury by influencing H3K9ac/BDNF/TrkB pathway.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Contribution of the Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis to Intergenerational Abnormalities in a Rat Model of Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorder.Anesthesiology · 2025Article
- Harnessing the microbiota-gut-brain axis to prevent and treat pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders: translational insights and strategies.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Review
- Early-Life Development of the Intestinal Microbiome in Preterm and Term Infants Hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- Analysis of risk factors affecting psycho-behavioural development in children with short bowel syndrome.Pediatric surgery international · 2025Article
- Research on Human milk feeding to drive impactful immune health and outcomes in vulnerable preterm infants should evaluate maternal confounders.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- Impact of mother's own milkMicrobiome research reports · 2025Review
- The neonatal gut microbiota: A role in the encephalopathy of prematurity.Cell reports. Medicine · 2024Article
- Risk of neurodevelopmental impairment in Swedish preterm children treated for necrotizing enterocolitis: retrospective cohort study.BJS open · 2024Article
- Primary succession of Bifidobacteria drives pathogen resistance in neonatal microbiota assembly.Nature microbiology · 2024Article
- The impact of gut microbiota on morbidities in preterm infants.The Kaohsiung journal of medical sciences · 2024Review
- Gut Dysbiosis in the First-Passed Meconium Microbiomes of Korean Preterm Infants Compared to Full-Term Neonates.Microorganisms · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Despite the well-recognized importance of proper gut microbiota assembly for the child's future health, the connections between the early-life gut microbiota and neurocognitive development in humans have not been thoroughly explored so far. In this pilot observational study, we aimed to unveil the relation between dynamic succession of the gut microbiota in very low birth weight infants during the first month of life and their neurodevelopment, assessed at 24-month corrected age. According to our data, the early-life gut microbiota of preterm infants with normal vs. impaired neurodevelopment followed distinct temporal trajectories with peculiar compositional rearrangements. In this context, early Bifidobacterium deficiency appears to be a negative biomarker of adverse neurological outcomes.
conclusionOur data might pave the way for future in-depth studies focusing on the potential impact of bifidobacteria or specific microbiota patterns on neonatal neurodevelopment and lay the foundation for microbiome-based clinical practices to modulate altered profiles and improve long-term health. WHAT IS KNOWN: • Preterm infants are at increased risk for adverse neurological outcomes and gut microbiota dysbiosis. • The gut microbiota and the nervous system share critical developmental windows in early life. WHAT IS NEW: • The absence of Bifidobacterium at 30 days of life in preterm infants is associated with neurodevelopmental impairment in early childhood. • The administration of Bifidobacterium strains could promote optimal neurocognitive development in fragile infants.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.