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To investigate the possibility that premature infants may be vulnerable to aluminum toxicity acquired through intravenous feeding, we prospectively studied plasma and urinary aluminum concentrations in 18 premature infants receiving intravenous therapy and in 8 term infants receiving no intravenous therapy. We also measured bone aluminum concentrations in autopsy specimens from 23 infants, including 6 who had received at least three weeks of intravenous therapy. Premature infants who received intravenous therapy had high plasma and urinary aluminum concentrations, as compared with normal controls: plasma aluminum, 36.78 +/- 45.30 vs. 5.17 +/- 3.1 micrograms per liter (mean +/- S.D., P less than 0.0001); urinary aluminum:creatinine ratio, 5.4 +/- 4.6 vs. 0.64 +/- 0.75 (P less than 0.01). The bone aluminum concentration was 10 times higher in infants who had received at least three weeks of intravenous therapy than in those who had received limited intravenous therapy: 20.16 +/- 13.4 vs. 1.98 +/- 1.44 mg per kilogram of dry weight (P less than 0.0001). Creatinine clearances corrected for weight did not reach expected adult values until 34 weeks of gestation. Many commonly used intravenous solutions are found to be highly contaminated with aluminum. We conclude that infants receiving intravenous therapy have aluminum loading, which is reflected in increased urinary excretion and elevated concentrations in plasma and bone. Such infants may be at high risk for aluminum intoxication secondary to increased parenteral exposure and poor renal clearance.

Background Oxandrolone, an anabolic agent, has been administered for 1 year post burn with beneficial effects in pediatric patients. However, the long-lasting effects of this treatment have not been studied. This single-center prospective trial determined the long-term effects of 1 year of oxandrolone administration in severely burned children; assessments were continued for up to 4 years post-therapy. Study Design Patients 0–18 years old with burns covering >30% of the total body surface area were randomized to receive placebo (n=152) or oxandrolone, 0.1 mg/kg twice daily for 12 months (n=70). At hospital discharge, patients were randomized to a 12 week exercise program or to standard of care. Resting energy expenditure (REE), standing height, weight, lean body mass, muscle strength, bone mineral content (BMC), cardiac work, rate pressure product (RPP), sexual maturation, and concentrations of serum inflammatory cytokines, hormones, and liver enzymes were monitored. Results Oxandrolone significantly decreased REE, RPP, and increased IGF-1 secretion during the first year after burn injury, and in combination with exercise significantly increased lean body mass and muscle strength. Oxandrolone-treated children exhibited improved height percentile and BMC content compared to controls. The maximal effect of oxandrolone was found in children aged 7–18 years. No deleterious side effects were attributed to long-term administration. Conclusions Administration of oxandrolone improves the long-term recovery of severely burned children in height, BMC, cardiac work and muscle strength; the increase in BMC is likely to occur by means of IGF 1. These benefits persist for up to 5 years post burn.

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ObjectiveTo determine whether the beneficial effects of growth hormone persist throughout the prolonged hypermetabolic and hypercatabolic response to severe burn. Summary Background DataThe hypermetabolic response to severe burn is associated with increased energy expenditure, insulin resistance, immunodeficiency, and whole body catabolism that persists for months after injury. Growth hormone is a potent anabolic agent and salutary modulator of posttraumatic metabolic responses. MethodsSeventy-two severely burned children were enrolled in a placebo-controlled double-blind trial investigating the effects of growth hormone (0.05 mg/kg per day) on muscle accretion and bone growth. Drug or placebo treatment began on discharge from the intensive care unit and continued for 1 year after burn. Total body weight, height, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, indirect calorimetry, and hormone values were measured at discharge, then at 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months after burn. Results were compared between groups.

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Children who are burned > 40% total body surface area lose significant quantities of both bone and muscle mass due to acute bone resorption, inflammation and endogenous glucocorticoid production, which result in negative nitrogen balance. Because administration of the bisphosphonate pamidronate within 10d of the burn injury completely prevents the bone loss we asked whether muscle protein balance was altered by the preservation of bone. We reviewed the results from 17 burned pediatric subjects previously enrolled in a double-blind randomized controlled study of pamidronate in the prevention of post-burn bone loss and who were concurrently evaluated for muscle protein synthesis and breakdown by stable isotope infusion studies during the acute hospitalization. We found a significantly lower fractional protein synthesis rate (FSR) in the pamidronate group and a correspondingly lower rate of appearance of the amino acid tracer in venous blood suggesting lower muscle protein turnover. Moreover, net protein balance(synthesis minus breakdown) was positive in the subjects receiving pamidronate and negative in those receiving placebo. Muscle fiber diameter was significantly greater in the pamidronate subjects and leg strength at 9 months post-burn was not different between subjects who received pamidronate and normal physically fit age-matched children studied in our lab. Leg strength in burned subjects who served as controls tended to be weaker, although not quite significantly so. If substantiated by a larger study, these results suggest that bone may have a paracrine mechanism to preserve muscle and this finding may have implications for the treatment of sarcopenia in the elderly.