Calcium homeostasis and its relationship to bone disease in the human neonate

Abstract

Although the study of calcium homeostasis and a clear understanding of its physiologic pathways in neonates have evolved more slowly than in older children and adults, greater strides have been made in recent years to expand this area of study. Similarly, the identification, examination, and etiologic understanding of neonatal osteopenia (rickets of prematurity) and its relationship with calcium homeostasis have been examined. This paper reviews the current literature on neonatal calcium homeostasis and the development of neonatal osteopenia, perhaps the most common bone disease of prematurity.