The influence of long chain polyunsaturate supplementation on docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid in baboon neonate central nervous system

BACKGROUND: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) are major components of the cerebral cortex and visual system, where they play a critical role in neural development. We quantitatively mapped fatty acids in 26 regions of the four-week-old breastfed baboon CNS, and studied the influence of dietary DHA and ARA supplementation and prematurity on CNS DHA and ARA concentrations. METHODS: Baboons were randomized into a breastfed (B) and four formula-fed groups: term, no DHA/ARA (T-); term, DHA/ARA supplemented (T+); preterm, no DHA/ARA (P-); preterm and DHA/ARA supplemented (P+). At four weeks adjusted age, brains were dissected and total fatty acids analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. RESULTS: DHA and ARA are rich in many more structures than previously reported. They are most concentrated in structures local to the brain stem and diencephalon, particularly the basal ganglia, limbic regions, thalamus and midbrain, and comparatively lower in white matter. Dietary supplementation increased DHA in all structures but had little influence on ARA concentrations. Supplementation restored DHA concentrations to levels of breastfed neonates in all regions except the cerebral cortex and cerebellum. Prematurity per se did not exert a strong influence on DHA or ARA concentrations. CONCLUSION: 1) DHA and ARA are found in high concentration throughout the primate CNS, particularly in gray matter such as basal ganglia; 2) DHA concentrations drop across most CNS structures in neonates consuming formulas with no DHA, but ARA levels are relatively immune to ARA in the diet; 3) supplementation of infant formula is effective at restoring DHA concentration in structures other than the cerebral cortex. These results will be useful as a guide to future investigations of CNS function in the absence of dietary DHA and ARA

Factors accounting for the association between anxiety and depression, and eczema: the Hordaland health study (HUSK)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The association between anxiety and depression, and eczema is well known in the literature, but factors underlying this association remain unclear. Low levels of omega-3 fatty acids and female gender have been found to be associated with both depression and eczema. Somatization and health anxiety are known to be associated with anxiety and depression, further, somatization symptoms and health anxiety have also been found in several dermatological conditions. Accordingly, omega-3 fatty acid supplement, female gender, somatization and health anxiety are possible contributing factors in the association between anxiety and depression, and eczema. The aim of the study is to examine the relevance of proposed contributing factors for the association between anxiety and depression, and eczema, including, omega-3 fatty acid supplement, female gender, health anxiety and somatization.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Anxiety and depression was measured in the general population (n = 15715) employing the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Information on eczema, female gender, omega-3 fatty acid supplement, health anxiety and somatization was obtained by self-report.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Somatization and health anxiety accounted for more than half of the association between anxiety/depression, and eczema, while the other factors examined were of minor relevance for the association of interest.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We found no support for female gender and omega-3 fatty acid supplement as contributing factors in the association between anxiety/depression, and eczema. Somatization and health anxiety accounted for about half of the association between anxiety/depression, and eczema, somatization contributed most. The association between anxiety/depression, and eczema was insignificant after adjustment for somatization and health anxiety. Biological mechanisms underlying the mediating effect of somatization are yet to be revealed.</p

The evolutionary history of the stearoyl-CoA desaturase gene family in vertebrates

<p/> <p>Background</p> <p>Stearoyl-CoA desaturases (SCDs) are key enzymes involved in <it>de novo </it>monounsaturated fatty acid synthesis. They catalyze the desaturation of saturated fatty acyl-CoA substrates at the delta-9 position, generating essential components of phospholipids, triglycerides, cholesterol esters and wax esters. Despite being crucial for interpreting SCDs roles across species, the evolutionary history of the SCD gene family in vertebrates has yet to be elucidated, in particular their isoform diversity, origin and function. This work aims to contribute to this fundamental effort.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show here, through comparative genomics and phylogenetics that the SCD gene family underwent an unexpectedly complex history of duplication and loss events. Paralogy analysis hints that SCD1 and SCD5 genes emerged as part of the whole genome duplications (2R) that occurred at the stem of the vertebrate lineage. The SCD1 gene family expanded in rodents with the parallel loss of SCD5 in the Muridae family. The SCD1 gene expansion is also observed in the Lagomorpha although without the SCD5 loss. In the amphibian <it>Xenopus tropicalis </it>we find a single SCD1 gene but not SCD5, though this could be due to genome incompleteness. In the analysed teleost species no SCD5 is found, while the surrounding SCD5-less locus is conserved in comparison to tetrapods. In addition, the teleost SCD1 gene repertoire expanded to two copies as a result of the teleost specific genome duplication (3R). Finally, we describe clear orthologues of SCD1 and SCD5 in the chondrichthian, <it>Scyliorhinus canicula</it>, a representative of the oldest extant jawed vertebrate clade. Expression analysis in <it>S. canicula </it>shows that whilst SCD1 is ubiquitous, SCD5 is mainly expressed in the brain, a pattern which might indicate an evolutionary conserved function.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that the SCD1 and SCD5 genes emerged as part of the 2R genome duplications. We propose that the evolutionary conserved gene expression between distinct lineages underpins the importance of SCD activity in the brain (and probably the pancreas), in a yet to be defined role. We argue that an expression independent of an external stimulus, such as diet induced activity, emerged as a novel function in vertebrate ancestry allocated to the SCD5 isoform in various tissues (e.g. brain and pancreas), and it was selectively maintained throughout vertebrate evolution.</p

Daily omega-3 fatty acid intake and depression in Japanese patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer

patients with newly diagnosed lung cance

Long-term follow-up of acute partial transverse myelitis.

BACKGROUND: Acute partial transverse myelitis (APTM) may be the first clinical symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) or may remain a monophasic event. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the risk of conversion to MS and long-term disability, and to determine prognosis factors for disability. DESIGN: We identified patients with no previous history of neurological disease who experienced APTM between January 1998 and December 2005 and were followed up at 3 university hospitals in France. Data on the patients' demographics and clinical states during follow-up, as well as data on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, brain and spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and visual evoked potentials, were analyzed. SETTING: Neurology departments of 3 university hospitals in Lille, Strasbourg, and Rouen, France, respectively. PATIENTS: A total of 85 patients with no previous history of neurological disease who experienced APTM. RESULTS: The mean (SD) follow-up period was 104.8 (29.8) months. There were 57 women (67%) and 28 men (33%), with a mean (SD) age at onset of 36.7 (11.7) years. At the end of follow-up, 53 patients (62%) were classified as having MS with a mean (SD) Expanded Disability Status Scale score of 2.6 (1.8), 1 patient (1%) was classified as having postinfectious myelitis, 1 (1%) as having neuromyelitis optica, 1 (1%) as having Sjögren syndrome, and 29 (34%) still had APTM of undetermined etiology. Oligoclonal bands in CSF were more frequent in patients with MS (92%) than in patients with APTM of undetermined etiology (38%). Brain MRI results were abnormal in 87% of patients with MS and 27% of patients with APTM of undetermined etiology; visual evoked potentials were abnormal in 43% of patients with MS and 4% of patients with APTM of undetermined etiology. Oligoclonal bands in CSF (odds ratio, 15.76 [95% CI, 2.95-84.24]) and at least 1 MRI-detected brain lesion (odds ratio, 7.74 [95% CI, 2.42-24.74]) were independent predictive factors for conversion to MS. CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that abnormal brain MRI results and the presence of oligoclonal bands in CSF are 2 independent predictive factors for conversion to MS. No clinical, biological, or MRI factor at onset was predictive of long-term disability.journal article2012 MarimportedErratum in : Arch Neurol. 2012 Jun;69(6):789. Outerryck, Olivier [corrected to Outteryck, Olivier]

Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes : a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

With depression being the psychiatric disorder incurring the largest societal costs in developed countries, there is a need to gather evidence on the role of nutrition in depression, to help develop recommendations and guide future psychiatric health care. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the link between diet quality, measured using a range of predefined indices, and depressive outcomes. Medline, Embase and PsychInfo were searched up to 31st May 2018 for studies that examined adherence to a healthy diet in relation to depressive symptoms or clinical depression. Where possible, estimates were pooled using random effect meta-analysis with stratification by observational study design and dietary score. A total of 20 longitudinal and 21 cross-sectional studies were included. These studies utilized an array of dietary measures, including: different measures of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and Alternative HEI (AHEI), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and the Dietary Inflammatory Index. The most compelling evidence was found for the Mediterranean diet and incident depression, with a combined relative risk estimate of highest vs. lowest adherence category from four longitudinal studies of 0.67 (95% CI 0.55-0.82). A lower Dietary Inflammatory Index was also associated with lower depression incidence in four longitudinal studies (relative risk 0.76; 95% CI: 0.63-0.92). There were fewer longitudinal studies using other indices, but they and cross-sectional evidence also suggest an inverse association between healthy diet and depression (e.g., relative risk 0.65; 95% CI 0.50-0.84 for HEI/AHEI). To conclude, adhering to a healthy diet, in particular a traditional Mediterranean diet, or avoiding a pro-inflammatory diet appears to confer some protection against depression in observational studies. This provides a reasonable evidence base to assess the role of dietary interventions to prevent depression.Peer reviewe

Relapses in Patients Treated with High-Dose Biotin for Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

High-dose biotin (HDB) is a therapy used in non-active progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS). Several reports have suggested that HDB treatment may be associated with an increased risk of relapse. We aimed to determine whether HDB increases the risk of clinical relapse in PMS and describe the characteristics of the patients who experience it. We conducted a French, multicenter, retrospective study, comparing a group of PMS patients treated with HDB to a matched control group. Poisson regression was applied to model the specific statistical distribution of the annualized relapse rate (ARR). A propensity score (PS), based on the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), was used to adjust for indication bias and included the following variables: gender, primary PMS or not, age, EDSS, time since the last relapse, and co-prescription of a DMT. Two thousand six hundred twenty-eight patients treated with HDB and 654 controls were analyzed with a follow-up of 17 ± 8 months. Among them, 148 validated relapses were observed in the group treated with biotin and 38 in the control group (p = 0.62). After adjustment based on the PS, the ARR was 0.044 ± 0.23 for the biotin-treated group and 0.028 ± 0.16 for the control group (p = 0.18). The more relapses there were before biotin, the higher the risk of relapse during treatment, independently from the use of HDB. While the number of relapses reported for patients with no previous inflammatory activity receiving biotin has gradually increased, the present retrospective study is adequately powered to exclude an elevated risk of relapse for patients with PMS treated with HDB.Observatoire Français de la Sclérose en Plaque