Supplements Don't Help Down Babies

Giving babies with Down syndrome supplements containing folate and other vitamins does nothing to improve their development, British researchers reported last week. The finding, published in the journal BMJ, may dampen parental enthusiasm for vitamin supplementation, which is widespread among families with a mentally retarded child.

To test a hypothesis suggested by previous studies, researchers at Peninsula Medical School in Exeter randomly assigned 156 babies younger than 7 months who had been born with Down syndrome to one of four groups. The first received daily supplements containing folic acid, another got antioxidants including Vitamin E, a third group received both and a fourth was given a placebo.

Compliance with the regimen was verified by blood tests, and neither parents nor researchers were told which substance the babies had received until the trial ended.

After 18 months, researchers assessed the cognitive and physical development of the infants. They found that supplementation had no effect on the achievement of developmental milestones, such as the ability to sit or stand unassisted, or on the number of words a baby understood or said.

"Parents who choose to give supplements to their children need to weigh their hope of unproven benefits against potential adverse effects from high-dose, prolonged supplementation," the researchers said.

-- Sandra G. Boodman