Search

Some FADS alleles are associated with lower DHA and ARA status assessed by the relative amount of arachidonic acid (ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in plasma and red blood cell (RBC) phospholipids (PL). We determined two FADS single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a cohort of pregnant women and examined the relationship of FADS1rs174533 and FADS2rs174575 to DHA and ARA status before and after supplementation with 600mg per day of DHA. The 205 pregnant women studied were randomly assigned to placebo (mixed soy and corn oil) (n=96) or 600mg algal DHA (n=109) in 3 capsules per day for the last two trimesters of pregnancy. Women homozygous for the minor allele of FADS1rs174533 (but not FADS2rs174575) had lower DHA and ARA status at baseline. At delivery, minor allele homozygotes of FADS1rs174533 in the placebo group had lower RBC-DHA compared to major-allele carriers (P=0.031), while in the DHA-supplemented group, all genotypes had higher DHA status compared to baseline (P=0.001) and status did not differ by genotype (P=0.941). Surprisingly, DHA but not the placebo decreased ARA status of minor allele homozygotes of both FADS SNPs but not major allele homozygotes at delivery. Any physiological effects of changing the DHA to ARA ratio by increasing DHA intake appears to be greater in minor allele homozygotes of some FADS SNPs., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Previously, we reported that regular maternal aerobic exercise during pregnancy was associated with lower fetal heart rate (HR) and higher heart rate variability (HRV) at 36weeks gestation. We now report the effect of maternal exercise on infant HR and HRV in subjects who remained active in the study at the one-month follow up visit., Aims: We aimed to determine whether differences in fetal cardiac autonomic control related to maternal physical activity were an in utero phenomenon or would persist 1month after birth., Study Design: Magnetocardiograms (MCGs) of infants born to regularly exercising (≥30min of aerobic activity, 3 times per week; N=16) and non-exercising (N=27) pregnant women were recorded using a fetal biomagnetometer. Normal R-peaks were marked to derive infant HR and HRV in time and frequency domains, including the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), the standard deviation of normal-to-normal interbeat intervals (SDNN), and power in the low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) bands. Group differences were examined with Student's t-tests., Results: Infants born to exercising women had significantly higher RMSSD (P=0.010), LF power (P=0.002), and HF power (P=0.004) than those born to women who did not engage in regular physical activity while pregnant., Conclusion: Infants born to women who participated in regular physical activity during pregnancy continued to have higher HRV in the infant period. This suggests that the developing cardiac autonomic nervous system is sensitive to the effects of maternal physical activity and is a target for fetal programming., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The objective of this longitudinal study was to determine what typical vitamin D predictors influence the change in vitamin D status from mid-pregnancy to birth., Methods: Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was determined at mid-pregnancy (8-20 weeks gestation) and following birth (n = 193). Usual predictors of vitamin D status [body mass index (BMI), race, season] in addition to prenatal supplemental vitamin D intake and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) status at delivery were assessed for their interaction on the change on plasma 25(OH)D concentration between the two time points., Results: Forty-nine percent of women had inadequate vitamin D status [categorized as deficient (<30 nmol/L) or insufficient (30-49.9 nmol/L) by IOM guidelines] at mid-pregnancy and 82% were deficient or insufficient at birth. Plasma 25(OH)D concentration dropped 61% from mid-pregnancy to birth. Season of birth (F = 7.86, P = 0.006) and mid-pregnancy plasma 25(OH)D concentration (F = 6.17, P = 0.014) were significant variables in the change of vitamin D status while BMI, race, DHA status, and typical vitamin D intake (334 IU/day) from prenatal supplements did not have an effect. Women who delivered in summer and fall had a 1.5-fold greater plasma 25(OH)D concentration than women who delivered in winter in spring (41.1 ± 23.1 and 40.7 ± 20.5 nmol/L summer and fall, respectively, versus 27.7 ± 17.9 and 29.3 ± 21.4 nmol/L in winter and spring, respectively)., Conclusions: Typical supplemental vitamin D intake during pregnancy did not prevent precipitous drops in maternal plasma 25(OH)D concentration. Clinicians and dietitians should be aware of the risk of inadequate vitamin D status in pregnant women in the United States relative to their initial vitamin D status and the season of birth.

Human milk compared with infant formulas contains considerably more sialic acid (SA) and cholesterol. Because both compounds accumulate rapidly in the frontal cortex in infancy, it has been suggested these compounds may be conditionally essential nutrients for brain development. A limited number of animal studies demonstrate that dietary cholesterol and SA increase cortical cholesterol and SA concentrations, respectively, and enhance learning. No study to our knowledge has examined the effects of simultaneously increasing cholesterol and SA intake on brain cortex composition. Rats were provided with cholesterol (0 or 0.5% of diet weight) from conception until they were killed on postnatal day (P) 32. Litters were culled (P1) to 8 pups, weaned early (P17), and fed a diet (P17-32) with the same amount of cholesterol as the dam for that litter with 1 of 4 amounts of SA from casein glycomacropeptide estimated to provide 0, 20, 40, or 80 mg · kg⁻¹ · d⁻¹ SA. The brain cortex from 10-12 pups (all from different litters) was analyzed for each of the 8 cholesterol-SA groups. SA, cholesterol, and protein concentrations were measured in cortex. Cholesterol exposure from conception to P32 increased cortex weight (P = 0.003) and the concentrations of cortical cholesterol (P = 0.006), protein (P = 0.034), and ganglioside SA (P = 0.02). Independent of cholesterol feeding, SA fed from P17 to P32 increased the cortical ganglioside SA concentration (P-trend = 0.007). Dietary cholesterol and SA independently contribute to brain cortex composition during early brain development.

The current report provides a brief background introducing 30 years of research on long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) and infant development, but focuses mainly on challenges for future studies. Infants fed formulas containing only vegetable fats were found to have lower docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) status than infants fed human milk. Studies soon focused on efforts to improve LC-PUFA status and evaluate functions suggested by early primate studies of DHA deficiency. Despite evidence for the importance of these fatty acids for development, particularly DHA, several recent meta-analyses conclude dietary supplementation does not enhance development. Future studies should employ (1) more finely grained measures of brain development as opposed to global measures, and (2) tests that evaluate development later in childhood when children are able to be tested on more complex behaviors (if found effective these would also be evidence of early brain programming). (3) Studies are needed to understand the cause of high variability in transfer of DHA to the fetus. (4) Finally, the role of single-nucleotide polymorphisms of the fatty acid desaturase genes 1 and 2 of mother and infant needs study to determine how they affect requirements for these fatty acids by the fetus/infant., (Copyright © 2013 Nestec Ltd., Vevey/S. Karger AG, Basel.)