The hype has hit the news services....Toby

New Formula For Premature Infants

    NEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) -- A formula designed for preterm infants
will now contain
    two algae-derived fatty acids that are thought to be essential to
development of cell
    membranes in the brain, eye, and other nervous tissue.

    The formula, called PreAdapta, is manufactured by Novartis Nutrition
SA in Spain and will
    be available in Europe, according to Martek Biosciences Corp., the
Columbia, Maryland
    manufacturer of the fatty acids.

    Currently, there are no infant formulas in the U.S. that contain the
two compounds, called
    docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA), according to
Steve Dubin, chief
    financial officer of Martek. Most U.S. formulas do contain
alpha-linoleic acid, a precursor to
    DHA.

    "DHA is especially important -- it's a building block for brain
membranes and tissue," said
    Dubin. "About 40% of your brain cell membranes are made up of DHA.
It's an important
    structural component. It's important for signal transmission within
cells and also important for
    visual systems."

    DHA is found in breast milk and may be the reason why some studies
have found that
    breast-fed infants have a higher IQ than bottle-fed infants, Dubin
said.

    DHA and ARA are also found in fish oil and are a component of
several European and Asian
    infant formulas. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected
to review studies of the
    fatty acid and release their findings this spring.

    "It hasn't been a hot topic in the U.S. until recently. Europe has
just been ahead of us on this
    one," Dubin said.

    The World Health Organization, the Joint Expert Committee on Human
Nutrition of the
    United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and the British
Nutrition Foundations
    have recommended that DHA and ARA be included in formulas for
premature infants.

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