Renal Control of Sodium Homeostasis in Infancy

Sodium potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity in preterm and term infants and its possible role in sodium homeostasis during maturation

“…The term baby thrives on a rather low intake of sodium, as prevails during the period of breast feeding 24. In contrast, the premature infant, when fed conventional “humanised” infant formula, will frequently fail to thrive and become hyponatraemic,4 23 25 thus necessitating supplementation with a relatively high salt diet 2627 The negative sodium balance in the premature infant is attributed to low renal sodium conservation 4-9…”

Aldosterone and Sodium Homeostasis in Preterm Infants

“…Thereafter a positive sodium balance was restored and plasma sodium levels returned to normal. It has been generally accepted that these features of sodium homeostasis are caused by the immaturity of the renal tubules (21,22).…”