U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2013





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Insect Meal: A Grand Challenge
- The Chicken, the Egg, and Salmonella
- Cooking with Science: Strawberries
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 **Read the magazine story to find out more.**Using newborn piglets as a model for premature human babies, preliminary ARS studies have found that small doses of a bile acid might help the newborns avoid a serious liver disease. Click the image for more information about it.For further reading
Epigenetics mechanism may help explain effects of Mom's nutrition on her children's health
Ongoing research analyzes formulas, mother's milk
Kids and diabetes risk: Do chromosomes hold new clues? Tiny Doses of Bile Acid May Blunt Preemie Liver Disease Marcia Wood  Giving premature babies small doses of a bile acid might help the newborns avoid a liver disease, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) physiologist Douglas G. Burrin and his colleagues. In a preliminary study with newborn piglets as the animal model, Burrin and his co-investigators showed that the bile acid CDCA (chenodeoxycholic acid) helped combat parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease (PNALD), a liver condition that sometimes occurs in preemies nourished exclusively through intravenous feeding. Known as total parenteral nutrition, or TPN, this feeding regimen can save lives but, if administered for longer than two weeks, may lead to complications such as PNALD. There is no well-established, science-based cure for PNALD. In severe cases, PNALD can lead to liver failure and the need for a liver transplant. In ongoing research designed to prevent or minimize the impact of PNALD and other unwanted side effects of TPN, Burrin and colleagues showed that administering small doses of CDCA three times a day helped fight PNALD in TPN-fed piglets. The team based its conclusion on measurements of three key biomarkers: serum bilirubin, serum bile acids, and liver triglycerides. Published in a 2012 issue of the *American Journal of Physiology—Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology*, the study is the first to demonstrate the use of CDCA, delivered directly to the upper digestive tract, to control PNALD in a newborn lab animal model. Piglets were chosen for this research because the pig digestive tract is very similar to that of humans. In addition, the size and body composition—the amount of fat and lean—in an infant piglet is typically comparable to that of a human preemie. Burrin is with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and is based at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas. He collaborated in the study with nutrition center co-researchers David D. Moore and Barbara Stoll; Ajay Kumar Jain, formerly with the research center; and Jens J. Holst of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital and ARS jointly manage the nutrition research center. ARS is the USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of improving children's health and nutrition. Read more about this research in the May/June 2013 issue of *Agricultural Research* magazine.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov