ABSTRACT. Objectives. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 n-3) and arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4 n-6) are important for development of the central nervous system in mammals. There is a growth spurt in the human brain during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first postnatal months, with a large increase in the cerebral content of AA and DHA. The fetus and the newborn infant depend on maternal supply of DHA and AA. Our hypothesis was that maternal intake of DHA during pregnancy and lactation is marginal and that high intake of this fatty acid would benefit the child. We examined the effect of supplementing pregnant and lactating women with very-long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs; cod liver oil) on mental development of the children, compared with maternal supplementation with long-chain n-6 PUFAs (corn oil).Methods. The study was randomized and doubleblinded. Pregnant women were recruited in week 18 of pregnancy to take 10 mL of cod liver oil or corn oil until 3 months after delivery. The cod liver oil contained 1183 mg/10 mL DHA, 803 mg/10 mL eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3), and a total of 2494 mg/10 mL ͚ n-3 PUFAs. The corn oil contained 4747 mg/10 mL linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) and 92 mg/10 mL ␣-linolenic acid (18:3 n-3). The amount of fat-soluble vitamins was identical in the 2 oils (117 g/mL vitamin A, 1 g/mL vitamin D, and 1.4 mg/mL dl-␣-tocopherol). A total of 590 pregnant women were recruited to the study, and 341 mothers took part in the study until giving birth. All infants of these women were scheduled for assessment of cognitive function at 6 and 9 months of age, and 262 complied with the request. As part of the protocol, 135 subjects from this population were invited for intelligence testing with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) at 4 years of age. Of the 135 invited children, 90 came for assessment. Six children did not complete the examination. The K-ABC is a measure of intelligence and achievement designed for children aged 2.5 years through 12.5 years. This multisubtest battery comprises 4 scales: Sequential Processing, Simultaneous Processing, Achievement (not used in the present study), and Nonverbal Abilities. The Sequential Processing and Simultaneous Processing scales are hypothesized to reflect the child's style of problem solving and information processing. Scores from these 2 scales are combined to form a Mental Processing Composite, which serves as the measure of intelligence in the K-ABC.Results. We received dietary information from 76 infants (41 in the cod liver oil group and 35 in the corn oil group), documenting that all of them were breastfed at 3 months of age. Children who were born to mothers who had taken cod liver oil (n ‫؍‬ 48) during pregnancy and lactation scored higher on the Mental Processing Composite of the K-ABC at 4 years of age as compared with children whose mothers had taken corn oil (n ‫؍‬ 36; 106. D ocosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 n-3) and arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4 n-6) are important for development of the central nervous system in ma...

ABSTRACT.Objective. There have been indications that high intake of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) during pregnancy may increase birth weight and gestational length. In addition, n-3 longchain PUFAs may be important for the neurobiological development of the infants. High levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) are found in the gray matter of the cerebral cortex and in the retina, and it seems as if the availability of long-chain PUFAs may be limiting cerebral development. The fetus and the newborn are dependent on a high supply from their mothers, either via the placenta or via breast milk. We supplemented pregnant and lactating women with n-3 or n-6 long-chain PUFAs to evaluate the effect on birth weight, gestational length, and infant development.Design. We performed a double-blind, randomized study recruiting 590 pregnant, healthy, nulli-or primiparous women (19 -35 years old) in weeks 17 to 19 of pregnancy. The women were provided 10 mL of either cod liver oil or corn oil daily until 3 months after delivery.Main outcome measures. Primary outcomes were gestational length and birth weight. Electroencephalography (EEG) was done on the second day of life and at 3 months of age. Novelty preference (Fagan test) was used as an indicator of cognitive function at 6 and 9 months of age. The fatty acid pattern in umbilical plasma phospholipids and in breast milk was measured, and dietary assessments were performed, both on the mothers during pregnancy and on the infants at 3 months of age. The growth of the infants was followed up to 1 year of age.Results. Three hundred forty-one mothers took part in the study until delivery. There were no significant differences in maternal body mass index before pregnancy and at birth, or parity between the 2 groups. Smoking habits and parental education were also similar in the 2 groups. The mean age of the mothers receiving cod liver oil was, by chance, 1 year higher than the age of the mothers receiving corn oil (28.6 Dietary information from 251 infants at 3 months of age was collected and 85% of these infants were exclusively breastfed, in addition to 12% who were partly breastfed. The breast milk of mothers supplemented with cod liver oil contained more n-3 long-chain PUFAs and less n-6 long-chain PUFAs than breast milk of mothers supplemented with corn oil. There were no significant differences in infant growth during the first year of life between the 2 groups.Conclusions. This study shows neither harmful nor beneficial effects of maternal supplementation of longchain n-3 PUFAs regarding pregnancy outcome, cognitive development, or growth, as compared with supplementation with n-6 fatty acids. However, it confirms that DHA concentration may be related to gestational length and cerebral maturation of the newborn. Pediatrics 2001; 108(5). URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/ 108/5/e82; dietary supplements, docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid, gestational length, birth weight, infant, pregnancy, breastfeeding, cognitive functioning, ele...

This study suggests that maternal concentration of n-3 very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids during pregnancy might be of importance for later cognitive function, such as sequential processing, although we observed no significant effect of n-3 fatty acid intervention on global IQs. Neonatal fatty acid status had no influence on BMI at 7 years of age.

Designed by a group of ME/CFS researchers and health professionals, the European Network on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (EUROMENE) has received funding from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)—COST action 15111—from 2016 to 2020. The main goal of the Cost Action was to assess the existing knowledge and experience on health care delivery for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) in European countries, and to enhance coordinated research and health care provision in this field. We report our findings and make recommendations for clinical diagnosis, health services and care for people with ME/CFS in Europe, as prepared by the group of clinicians and researchers from 22 countries and 55 European health professionals and researchers, who have been informed by people with ME/CFS.

We found no differences between the group receiving cod liver oil and the group receiving corn oil in any of the measured variables; thus, the groups are treated statistically as one. Leptin concentration in maternal plasma increased during pregnancy from 15.5 +/- 9.0 microg/L (n = 175) in week 18 to 17.7 +/- 10.7 microg/L (n = 166) in week 35. Mothers, pregnant with female fetuses (n = 77), had a significant increase in plasma leptin concentration, from 15.5 +/- 8.8 microg/L (n = 83) at 18 weeks to 18.5 +/- 10.9 microg/L (n = 80) at 35 weeks of pregnancy, whereas in mothers pregnant with male fetuses, the increase was insignificant (15.4 +/- 9.3 microg/L (n = 92) to 17.0 +/- 10.5 microg/L (n = 86). BMI increased during the same time period, from 24.2 +/- 3.3 kg/m to 27.8 +/- 3.8 kg/m (n = 174). There was a significant correlation between BMI and plasma leptin concentration at 18 weeks (r = 0.54, n = 169) and at 35 weeks (r = 0.45, n = 160), but we found no change in the relative leptin concentration (plasma leptin concentration/BMI) from week 18 to week 35. We found no significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers in plasma leptin concentration, neither at 18 nor 35 weeks of pregnancy. Gender differences in plasma leptin concentration was present already at birth in umbilical cord plasma (10.8 +/- 9.2 microg/L for girls [n = 65] vs 7.6 +/- 6.6 microg/L for boys [n = 74]). We also observed gender differences in plasma leptin concentration at 4 weeks (3.9 +/- 1.8 microg/L, n = 68 vs 3.2 +/- 1.8 microg/L, n = 71) and 14 weeks of age (4.9 +/- 2.1 microg/L, n = 61 vs 4.1 +/- 3.1 microg/L, n = 73). Plasma leptin levels at 4 and 14 weeks were lower than the level in umbilical cord plasma (n = 101). An increase in plasma leptin concentration was observed from 4 to 14 weeks of age, both for girls (n = 48) and for boys (n = 60). Leptin concentration in umbilical cord plasma correlated with birth weight (r = 0.44, n = 139), and there was significant corre

Maternal supplementation with n-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and lactation provides more DHA to the infant and reduces maternal plasma lipid levels compared to supplementation with n-6 fatty acids.

Complex III (cytochrome bc1) is a protein complex of the mitochondrial inner membrane that transfers electrons from ubiquinol to cytochrome c. Its assembly requires the coordinated expression of mitochondrial-encoded cytochrome b and nuclear-encoded subunits and assembly factors. Complex III deficiency is a severe multisystem disorder caused by mutations in subunit genes or assembly factors. Sequence-profile-based orthology predicts C11orf83, hereafter named UQCC3, to be the ortholog of the fungal complex III assembly factor CBP4. We describe a homozygous c.59T>A missense mutation in UQCC3 from a consanguineous patient diagnosed with isolated complex III deficiency, displaying lactic acidosis, hypoglycemia, hypotonia and delayed development without dysmorphic features. Patient fibroblasts have reduced complex III activity and lower levels of the holocomplex and its subunits than controls. They have no detectable UQCC3 protein and have lower levels of cytochrome b protein. Furthermore, in patient cells, cytochrome b is absent from a high-molecular-weight complex III. UQCC3 is reduced in cells depleted for the complex III assembly factors UQCC1 and UQCC2. Conversely, absence of UQCC3 in patient cells does not affect UQCC1 and UQCC2. This suggests that UQCC3 functions in the complex III assembly pathway downstream of UQCC1 and UQCC2 and is consistent with what is known about the function of Cbp4 and of the fungal orthologs of UQCC1 and UQCC2, Cbp3 and Cbp6. We conclude that UQCC3 functions in complex III assembly and that the c.59T>A mutation has a causal role in complex III deficiency.

Individual and geographical variations in ochratoxin A (OA) levels in human blood and milk samples may be due to differences in dietary habits. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between OA contamination of human milk and dietary intake. Human milk samples were collected from 80 Norwegian women. The usual food intake during the last year was recorded using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The concentration of OA in the human milk was determined by HPLC (detection limit 10 ng/l). Seventeen (21%) out of 80 human milk samples contained OA in the range 10 -182 ng/l. The women with a high dietary intake of liver paste (liverwurst, liver pâté) and cakes (cookies, fruitcakes, chocolate cakes etc.) were more likely to have OA-contaminated milk. The risk of OA contamination was also increased by the intake of juice (all kinds). In addition, the results indicate that breakfast cereals, processed meat products, and cheese could be important contributors to dietary OA intake. OA contamination of the milk was unrelated to smoking, age, parity, and anthropometric data other than body weight.