Effects of dietary long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on plasma amino acids and indices of protein metabolism in infants: Results from a randomized clinical trial

Background/Aim: Previous studies in vitro and in animals in vivo found that alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3 omega 3) may enhance oxidative damage of essential amino acids. We investigated whether the addition of the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) arachidonate (C20:4 omega-6; AA) and docosahexaenoate (C22:6-omega 3; DHA) in the form of egg phospholipids to infant formula affects plasma amino acid concentrations and indices of protein metabolism in term infants. Methods: In a double-blind, randomized clinical trial, healthy infants were fed from day 5 of life formula with or without preformed LCPUFA (n = 10 and 12, respectively). At the age of 5 days and 1, 2, 3 and 4 months, blood samples were obtained and analyzed for plasma amino acids by high-performance liquid chromatography and for plasma phospholipid fatty acid composition by gas chromatography. Results: At the age of 3 months, plasma threonine concentrations were significantly lower in infants receiving dietary LCPUFA than in controls (124 +/- 16 vs. 216 +/- 28 mu mol/l, p < 0.05). Values of other plasma essential amino acids, total protein, albumin, creatinine and urea nitrogen did not differ between the two feeding groups throughout the study. At the age of 5 days, plasma phospholipid AA and DHA concentrations were inversely correlated with histidine concentrations (AA: r = -0.60, p = 0.01; DHA: r = -0.53, p < 0.05). At the age of 3 months, DHA concentrations were inversely related to plasma histidine, methionine and threonine concentrations (r = -0.66, -0.62, and -0.64, respectively, p < 0.05). Conclusions: The dietary LCPUFA supplementation of infant formula used in this study has no adverse effects on infant plasma amino acid concentrations and indicators of protein metabolism. Nonetheless, the apparent interaction of LCPUFA with some amino acids in formula-fed infants warrants further investigation

Feasibility of real-time available transfer capacity calculations with PSSE

A new procedure is reviewed in this article that offers the possibility of the precision enhancement of intra-day network capacity calculations. The main advantages of the new procedure are the calculation capability of potential Emergency Assistance Service in reasonably short time and the enhancement of the intra-day trading activities

Az esszenciális zsírsavak metabolizmusának zavarai és terápiás befolyásulásuk lehetőségei a gyermekgyógyászati gyakorlatban = Disturbances of essential fatty acid metabolism and potential therapeutic interventions in the paediatric praxis

Szignifikáns fordított korrelációt találtunk a női tej arachidonsav- és dokozahexénsavtartalma valamint a 18 szénatomot tartalmazó transz izomér zsírsavak között, ami arra utal, hogy az anyai étrendbe bekerülő transz izomér zsírsavak károsan befolyásolhatják az újszülött esszenciális zsírsavellátottságát. Szignifikánsan magasabb arachidonsav és a dokozahexénsav értékeket találtunk a szoptatás első hónapjában a koraszülöttet szült anyák tejében, mint az időre született újszülöttet szült anyákéiban. Megfigyelésünk újabb szemponttal támasztja alá a saját anya tejének fontosságát a koraszülöttek táplálásában. Szignifikáns összefüggéseket találtunk a köldökzsinór véna és artéria falának a megszületéskor meghatározott zsírsavösszetétele, valamint a csecsemők mind 3 hónapos, mind pedig 18 hónapos életkorban megítélhető fejlődésneurológiai statusa között. Ez a megfigyelésünk arra utal, hogy a várandós anyák zsírsavellátottsága a megszületés utáni legalább másfél éves időszakra szólóan befolyásolhatja a gyermek neurológiai fejlődését. Megállapítottuk, hogy az uncoupling protein gén -866 G/A polimorfizmusa szignifikánsan összefüggésben van elhízott gyermekek zsírsavellátottságával, amit célszerű figyelembe venni az elhízottak étrendje zsírsavösszetételét befolyásoló vizsgálatok tervezésekor. Újabb adatokat szolgáltattunk a hosszú szénláncú, többszörösen telítetlen zsírsavak a diabetes mellitus és a gyulladásos bélbetegségek kórképeiben betöltött szerepére vonatkozóan. | We found significant inverse correlations between human milk arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid values, on the one hand, and values of 18-carbon trans isomeric fatty acids, on the other hand. This observation indicates that maternal dietary intake of trans isomeric fatty acids may untowardly influence the availability of essential fatty acids for the infant. We found significantly higher values of arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids in milk samples of mothers of preterm than in those of full-term infants. This observation provides further ground for the utilisation of the own mothers' milk in the nutrition of preterm infants. We revealed significant correlations between long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in cord vessel wall lipids and neurodevelopment of the offspring both at the age of 3 and 18 months. These data indicate that fatty acid status of expecting women may influence the neurodevelopment of their children at least up to the age of 1.5 years. We demonstrated significant correlations between the -866 G/A polymorphism of uncoupling protein gene and fatty acid status in obese children; this relationship should be taken into consideration at planning studies on modifying fatty acid intake in obese subjects. We published further data on the role of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in diabetes mellitus and inflammatory bowel disease

Self-reported attitudes, knowledge and skills of using evidence-based medicine in daily health care practice: A national survey among students of medicine and health sciences in Hungary

In order to map attitudes, knowledge and skills related to evidence-based medicine (EBM) in students of medical and health sciences faculties, we performed an online survey during the spring semester 2019 in all medical and health sciences faculties in Hungary. In total, 1080 students of medicine and 911 students of health sciences completed the online questionnaire. The attitude towards EBM was generally positive; however, only a small minority of students rated their EBM-related skills as advanced. There were large differences in the understanding of different EBM-related terms, with 'sample size' as the term with the highest (65%) and 'intention-to-treat analysis' with the lowest (7%) proportion of medical students being able to properly explain the meaning of the expression. Medical students who already participated in some EBM training rated their skills in searching and evaluating medical literature and their knowledge of EBM-related terms significantly better and had a more positive attitude towards using EBM in the practice than students without previous EBM training. EBM trained medical students were more likely to choose online journals (17.5% compared to 23.9%, p<0.05) and professional guidelines (15.4% compared to 6.1%, p<0.001) instead of printed books (33.6% compared to 52.6, p<0.001) as the main source of healthcare information retrieval and used Pubmed/Medline, Medscape and the Cochrane Library to a significant higher rate than students without any previous EBM training. Healthcare work experience (OR = 1.59; 95% CI = 1.01-2.52), conducting student research (OR = 2.02; 95% CI = 1.45-2.82) and upper year university students (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.37-1.98) were other factors significantly influencing EBM-related knowledge. We conclude that the majority of students of medical and health sciences faculties are keen to acquire EBM-related knowledge and skills during their university studies. Significantly higher EBM-related knowledge and skills among EBM trained students underline the importance of targeted EBM education, while parallel increase of knowledge and skills with increasing number of education years highlight the importance of integrating EBM terminology and concepts also into the thematic of other courses

Dietary Intake of Natural Sources of Docosahexaenoic Acid and Folate in Pregnant Women of Three European Cohorts

Background: Folic acid plays a fundamental role in cell division and differentiation. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been associated with infantile neurological and cognitive development. Thus, optimal intrauterine development and growth requires adequate supply of these nutrients during pregnancy. Methods: Healthy pregnant women, aged 18-41 years, were recruited in Granada (Spain; n = 62), Munich (Germany; n = 97) and Pecs (Hungary; n = 152). We estimated dietary DHA and folate intake in weeks 20 (w20) and 30 of gestation (w30) using a food frequency questionnaire with specific focus on the dietary sources of folate and DHA. Results: Both w20 and w30 Spanish participants had significantly higher daily DHA intakes (155 +/- 13 and 161 +/- 9 mg/1,000 kcal) than the German (119 +/- 9 and 124 +/- 12 mg/1,000 kcal; p = 0.002) and Hungarian participants (122 +/- 8 and 125 +/- 10 mg/1,000 kcal; p = 0.005). Hungarian women had higher folate intakes in w20 and w30 (149 +/- 5 and 147 +/- 6 mu g/1,000 kcal) than Spanish (112 +/- 2 and 110 +/- 2 mu g/1,000 kcal; p < 0.001) and German participants (126 +/- 4 and 120 +/- 6 mu g/1,000 kcal; p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion: Dietary DHA and folate intake of pregnant women differs significantly across the three European cohorts. Only 7% of the participants reached the recommended folate intake during pregnancy, whereas nearly 90% reached the DHA recommended intake of 200 mg per day. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Base

Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in membranes are determined by the gene expression of their metabolizing enzymes SCD1 and ELOVL6 regulated by the intake of dietary fat

Purpose: We investigated the effect of dietary fats on the incorporation of saturated (SAFAs) and monounsaturated dietary fatty acids (MUFAs) into plasma phospholipids and the regulation of the expression of lipid-metabolizing enzymes in the liver. Methods: Mice were fed different diets containing commonly used dietary fats/oils (coconut fat, margarine, fish oil, sunflower oil, or olive oil) for 4 weeks (n = 6 per diet group). In a second experiment, mice (n = 6 per group) were treated for 7 days with synthetic ligands to activate specific nuclear hormone receptors (NHRs) and the hepatic gene expression of CYP26A1 was investigated. Hepatic gene expression of stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD1), elongase 6 (ELOVL6), and CYP26A1 was examined using quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR). Fatty acid composition in mouse plasma phospholipids was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). Results: We found significantly reduced hepatic gene expression of SCD1 and ELOVL6 after the fish oil diet compared with the other diets. This resulted in reduced enzyme-specific fatty acid ratios, e.g., 18:1n9/18:0 for SCD1 and 18:0/16:0 and 18:1n7/16:1n7 for ELOVL6 in plasma phospholipids. Furthermore, CYP26A1 a retinoic acid receptor-specific target was revealed as a new player mediating the suppressive effect of fish oil-supplemented diet on SCD1 and ELOVL6 hepatic gene expression. Conclusion: Plasma levels of MUFAs and SAFAs strongly reflect an altered hepatic fatty acid-metabolizing enzyme expression after supplementation with different dietary fats/oils

Systematic review of fatty acid composition of human milk from mothers of preterm compared to full-term infants

Background: Fatty acid composition of human milk serves as guidance for the composition of infant formulae. The aim of the study was to systematically review data on the fatty acid composition of human milk of mothers of preterm compared to full-term infants. Methods: An electronic literature search was performed in English (Medline and Medscape) and German (SpringerLink) databases and via the Google utility. Fatty acid compositional data for preterm and fullterm human milk were converted to differences between means and 95% confidence intervals. Results: We identified five relevant studies publishing direct comparison of fatty acid composition of preterm versus full-term human milk. There were no significant differences between the values of the principal saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. In three independent studies covering three different time points of lactation, however, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) values were significantly higher in milk of mothers of preterm as compared to those of full-term infants, with an extent of difference considered nutritionally relevant. Conclusion: Higher DHA values in preterm than in full-term human milk underlines the importance of using own mother's milk for feeding preterm babies and raises the question whether DHA contents in preterm formulae should be higher than in formulae for full-term infants. Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel