Gut Microbiota in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to announce a Special Issue for Nutrients entitled “Gut Microbiota in Very Low Birth Weight Infants” that aims to cover the most recent facts and figures around the gut microbiome of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Our current understandings about the nature of the VLBW infant gut microbiome have grown enormously over the last few years. Prophylaxis and treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis is one entity that researchers try to better characterize and explain through microbiome research. Probiotics, mainly Lactobacillus and Bifidusbacterium, and some combination preparations are in development, trying to hinder NEC development. Mainly the optimal probiotic, its dosage, when to start and duration of prophylaxis or treatment are questions that still need adequate studies to be answered. Developmental follow-up of these high-risk preterm infants and the influence of the microbiome based on the gut–brain axis might be discussed. The influence of neonatal intensive care medicine on the gut microbiota is complex, and the influence of feeding strategies on gut microbiota has to be further elucidated. Many neonatal diagnoses (e.g., late-onset sepsis) are strongly associated with gut microbiota. Hopefully, the topic of this Special Issue interests and attracts lots of researchers and study groups to publish original articles or reviews in Nutrients.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Resch
Guest Editor

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