Videos

#WyethNutritionsc2021

Studies suggest that the use of high sn-2 palmitate enriched formula may enhance the absorption of fat and calcium, and confer beneficial effects on stool consistency, bone health and gut microbiota.

A child’s brain undergoes tremendous changes during the growing period from birth to three—producing more than a million neural connections each second. This process continues allowing the brain to develop and change into adulthood, however, it is known that the first 8 years of early -life periods encompass the peak period of brain growth, coincide with the emergence of nearly all fundamental cognitive and behavioral skills and abilities, and overlap with the earliest onset and symptoms of a wide breadth of developmental, intellectual, and psychiatric disorders. It is increasingly recognized that altered brain development throughout this sensitive period can negatively affect cognitive and behavioral outcomes. The development of safe and noninvasive neuroimaging techniques has provided new insights into patterns of early structural and functional neurodevelopment, the relationships between brain growth and emerging brain function, and the influence of environmental, genetic, and nutritional factors on shaping these brain-function relationships. In particular, nutrition is a critical and readily modifiable influence that can profoundly impact early brain maturation. This presentation will provide an overview current understanding of early-life nutrition and its effects on the developing brain as illustrated by neuroimaging. Part 2 lecture with Dr Barry O’Neill

The investigation of fatty acid composition, not only in total lipids but also in phospholipids contained in human milk. While phospholipids can be considered an important source of energy, they also afford long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), which play a pivotal role in growth and brain development in newborn Infants. Phospholipids are important molecules which form membrane lipid bilayers; they are ubiquitous to every cell in the brain, and carry out a host of different functions. Phospholipids play a key role in supporting the integrity, structure, and function of cells in the brain and the protective myelin sheath. Disruption in brain phospholipids content such as imbalance in phospholipid metabolism, signaling and transport has been documented in some neurological conditions. One of the most abundant lipids in the brain is sphingomyelin (SM), which is also one of the most abundant phospholipids in human milk, making up 27% of the lipid content in human milk. the high content of SM is considered of importance for infants as it contributes approximate 17% of the total choline to the neonates. The effect of dietary SM has been demonstrated in both preclinical and clinical studies. Clinically, a very low birth weight preterm infants fed with high SM containing formula was shown to be associated with improved behavior rating scores, information processing, and sustained attention at 18 months. Recently, an observational study reported an association of SM as well as phosphatidylcholine (PC) in myelination. The data suggest that dietary intake of these components may be important during the rapid brain development period. This presentation summarizes the current understanding of the impact of phospholipids in brain development. Part 1 Lecture with Prof Sean Deoni