Nutritive Efficacy and Safety of a Modified Infant Formula With a Reduced Protein Content and Improved Protein Quality

June 5, 2020 updated by: Dr. Hanna Petersen, Waldkrankenhaus Protestant Hospital, Spandau

Nutritive Efficacy and Safety of a Modified Infant Formula With a Reduced Protein: Content and Improved Protein Quality: LactPro-Minus

Formula contains significantly higher total protein concentrations than breast milk. Therefore formula-fed infants have a significantly higher total protein intake in the first few months compared to exclusively breast-fed infants.

The aim is to examine the nutritive efficacy and safety of a modified infant formula with a reduced protein content and improved protein quality in a prospective, double-blind, controled, randomized study. Primary outcome measures are weight gain and growth of young infants under 12 weeks of dietary intake of the new infant formula. Metabolic effects of the qualitative and quantitative changes in the protein content of the new formula will be recorded. Two groups of healthy bottle-fed infants will be compared. The treatment group will be fed for 3 months with an infant formula with decreased protein content. At the same time the protein body of the new formula is modified by enrichment with bovine alpha-lactalbumin.

A control group receives a isocaloric conventional infant formula and a protein body consisting of whey protein and casein in a ratio of 60:40, without specific accumulation of alpha-lactalbumin over the same time-period.

A group of breastmilk fed infants will serve as a reference group. In regular anthropometric controls growth and thriving of the study participants is documented and compared between the different groups.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Breast milk is considered the gold standard for early childhood nutrition, it is optimized in terms of ingredients to the needs of the infant in the first months of life. Formula differ in many ways in their composition to breast milk, e.g. in the structure and concentration of the protein contained.

To ensure adequate supply of the infant with all essential and semi-essential amino acids conventional infant formula contains significantly higher total protein concentrations than breast milk. Therefore formula-fed infants have a significantly higher total protein intake in the first few months compared to exclusively breast-fed infants, and individual amino acids are therefore fed in excess.

The increased intake of protein, and thus the increased intake of some insulinogenic amino acids in infancy (e.g. the branched chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine), is now considered as a possible co-factor for later disposition to overweight and obesity. Breastfeeding induces slower growth of the infant and is proven to be associated with a lower risk of being overweight or obese at the time of school entry (von Kries 1999). The higher protein intake in bottle-fed babies seems to contribute significantly to the differences that can be observed in the growth behavior between breast-fed and bottle-fed children in the first years of life.

Obvious approaches to optimize infant formula are therefore the reduction of protein content, while ensuring an adequate supply of all relevant amino acids similar to breast milk.

Enrichment with alpha-lactalbumin enables the reduction of total protein content in the formula through the qualitative upgrading of the protein body and the high content of essential amino acids, thereby limiting a surplus of protein intake, but at the same time to supply adequate amounts of essential amino acids.

The aim is to examine the nutritive efficacy and safety of a modified infant formula with a reduced protein content and improved protein quality. Primary outcome measures are weight gain and growth of young infants under the 12 weeks of dietary intake of the new infant formula, and metabolic effects of the qualitative and quantitative changes in the protein content of the new formula. Two groups of healthy bottle-fed infants will be compared. The treatment group will be fed for 3 months with an infant formula with decreased protein content. At the same time the body of experimental protein infant formula was modified by enrichment with bovine alpha-lactalbumin.

A control group receives a isocaloric conventional infant formula and a protein body consisting of whey protein and casein in a ratio of 60:40, without specific accumulation of alpha-lactalbumin over the same time period.

A group of breastmilk fed infants will serve as a reference group.

In regular anthropometric controls growth and thriving of the study participants is documented and compared between the different groups. In addition, laboratory tests are carried out, which will examine the influence of diet on insulin response, protein metabolism and specific growth factors.

In a follow-up long-term effects of nutrition on body composition will be recorded by comparing body fat measurements (skinfold thickness-Calipometrie) during the first year of life.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
120

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Germany
      • Berlin, Germany, 13589
        • Evangelisches Waldkrankenhaus Spandau

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

1 day to 1 month (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • At the time of study enrollment apparently healthy newborns / infants without pronounced hyper- or hypotrophy (age-appropriate weight percentiles > 3 and < 97 according to Voigt et al.)
  • Maternal decision against breastfeeding (for Formula Groups)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Congenital gastrointestinal malformations, metabolic disease, chromosomal aberration, syndromic disease with significant impact on growth, development, nutrition, immune competence
  • Manifestation of a serious disease, which is expected to be accompanied by growth retardation, intestinal transit disruption or the need for special dietary treatment (e.g. hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, cystic fibrosis, Hirschsprung's disease, cow's milk protein intolerance.)
  • Decision to administer HA (hypoallergenic) formula due to family atopies (defined by atopic disease of at least one 1 st degree relative: bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis, pollinosis)
  • Participation in another nutritional study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Standard infant formula
Dietary supplement: Standard infant formula
No Intervention: Breast-feeding
Exclusive breast-feeding
Experimental: Protein reduced formula
Protein reduced alpha-lactalbumin formula
Dietary supplement: Protein reduced alpha-lactalbumin formula, with higher levels of alpha-lactalbumin

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Composite measure of Growth
Time Frame: 1 year
height, body weight, head circumference
1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Daily fluid intake
Time Frame: 3 months
ml/kg/d
3 months

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Plasma concentrations of transthyretin, urea and total protein
Time Frame: 3 months
3 months
Body Fat Percentage
Time Frame: 1 year
skinfold thickness-Calipometrie
1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Waldkrankenhaus Protestant Hospital, Spandau

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Humana Inc.

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Frank Jochum, Dr. med., Paul Gerhard Diakonie

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 9, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 10, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 11, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 9, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 5, 2020

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 1026

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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