While critical for brain development, circulating lipids in the fetus are low. After birth, however, breastmilk and other forms of neonatal nutrition are rich in lipids, leading to a sharp rise in circulating fat. How the body’s cellular machinery and physiological systems adapt to this shift is still not well understood.
Preterm and other developmentally stressed newborns often receive intravenous nutrition that’s high in lipids. Some of these infants go on to develop lipid-related complications, while others do not. The reasons for this variability—particularly the role of maturational “age”—remain unclear. Gaining a better understanding of how lipid metabolism evolves with post-conceptional age may help explain these differences and improve care.
Find this paper at Clinical Science and Pubmed.