OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS IN NORMAL VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

描述(改编自申请人的摘要)：脂肪酸含量 大脑中的神经组织在发育过程中不断变化，并呈进行性变化 用长链多不饱和脂肪酸(LCPs)富集磷脂， 特别是在产前最后三个月和前六个月 产后。在最佳条件下，LCP通过 胎盘转移和通过母乳喂养婴儿出生后。然而， 只有60%的美国新生儿是母乳喂养的，60%-80%的母乳喂养的婴儿是 12周大时断奶。配方奶喂养剥夺了婴儿预先形成的LCP 因为它们不在美国婴儿配方奶粉中提供。妊娠的最后三个月 出生前发育和生命的第一年是快速增长期 大脑中突触和树突分支的数量。因为这些 这一过程需要在神经细胞膜上沉积LCP，没有任何限制 LCP供应的减少可能会改变中枢神经系统的生长和功能。 而乳清蛋白在婴幼儿配方奶粉中的应用一直是研究的重点 在生命的前2-4个月，人们对关键期知之甚少 在此期间，饮食LCPs影响皮质功能的成熟。在AIM 我们将进行一项足月儿补充LCP的随机试验 在4-12个月期间。我们将描绘皮质LCP的关键期 通过比较这个队列的神经发育结果和我们的 来自LCP补充剂随机试验的现有足月婴儿数据集 在生命的最初几周或几个月。LCP存在的论点 将母乳作为婴儿配方奶粉的基础是令人信服的，但 受限于缺乏关于饮食的短期和长期影响的数据 配方奶粉喂养婴儿的LCP补充剂。在目标2中，代谢和营养 LCPs的效果将根据止血的变化进行评估， 抗氧化防御机制和脂类分布。这些功能和 生化参数被认为对评估 国家婴幼儿补充LCP的短期和长期安全性 配方奶粉供应。视觉诱发电位和优先观看敏锐度 在婴儿LCP营养研究中被广泛用作结果衡量标准， 这些视觉结果与其他方面有关的推断 皮质功能；即认知功能。在目标3中，我们建议获得 首次对大样本婴儿的长期认知结果数据 参与补充LCP配方奶粉的随机试验。通过关联 婴儿期视觉皮质功能的长期结果，我们将直接 评估早期视觉测试对长期认知结果的预测性。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted From The Applicant's Abstract): The fatty acid content of neural tissues in the brain changes throughout development, with progressive enrichment of phospholipids with long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs), especially during the last pre-natal trimester and the first 6 months post-natal. Under optimal conditions, LCPs are supplied to the fetus via placental transfer and to the infant via breast-feeding post-natally. However, only 60% of U.S. newborns are breast-fed and 60-80% of breast-fed infants are weaned by 12 weeks of age. Formula feeding deprives infants of pre-formed LCPs since they are not provided in U.S. infant formulas. The last trimester of pre-natal development and the first year of life are periods of rapid increase in the number of synapses and dendritic arborizations in the brain. Since these processes require the deposition of LCPs in neuronal membranes, any limitation of LCP supply may modify the growth and function of the central nervous system. While the focus of research on LCP supplementation of infant formula has been on the first 2-4 months of life, little is known about the critical period during which dietary LCPs influence the maturation of cortical function. In Aim 1, we will conduct a randomized trial of LCP supplementation of term infants during months 4-12. We will delineate the critical period for cortical LCP accretion by comparing neurodevelopmental outcomes from this cohort with our existing term infant data sets from randomized trials of LCP supplementation during the first weeks or months of life. The argument that LCPs are present in human milk as a basis for their inclusion in infant formula is compelling but limited by the lack of data on the short-term and long-term effects of dietary LCP supplements in formula-fed infants. In Aim 2, metabolic and nutritional effects of LCPs will be evaluated in terms of alterations in hemostasis, antioxidant defense mechanisms, and lipid profiles. These functional and biochemical parameters are considered of particular importance to assessing the short-term and long-term safety of LCP-supplementation to the nation's infant formula supply. Visual evoked potential and preferential looking acuity have been used widely as outcome measures in studies of infant LCP nutrition, with the inference that these visual outcomes are related to other aspects of cortical function; i.e., cognitive function. In Aim 3, we propose to obtain the first long-term cognitive outcome data for large samples of infants who participated in randomized trials of LCP-supplemented formula. By relating long-term outcomes to visual cortical function during infancy, we will directly evaluate the predictive of early visual tests for long-term cognitive outcomes.