The details of this finding are published in a recent edition of the Journal of Pediatrics.
To come to this conclusion, researchers first measured docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentration ”a type of omega-3 fatty acid involved in the development of neurons and retinas ”in the umbilical cord blood of 109 infants. DHA concentration in the umbilical cord is a good indicator of intra-uterine exposure to omega-3s during the last trimester of pregnancy, a crucial period for the development of retinal photoreceptors and neurons, explains Dr. Dewailly.
Tests conducted on these infants at 6 and 11 months revealed that their visual acuity as well as their cognitive and motor development were closely linked to DHA concentration in the umbilical cord blood at the time of their birth. However, there was very little relation between test results and DHA concentration in a mother's milk among infants who were breast-fed. These results highlight the crucial importance of prenatal exposure to omega-3s in a child's development, points out Dr. Muckle.
Researchers observed that DHA concentration in the umbilical cord blood was in direct relation with the concentration found in a mother's blood, a reminder of the importance of a mother's diet in providing omega-3 fatty acids for the fetus. They also noted that DHA concentration was higher in the fetus's blood than in the mother's. While developing its nervous system, a fetus needs great quantities of DHA. It can even transform other types of omega-3s into DHA in order to develop its brain, explains Dr. Dewailly.
For the members of the research team, there is no doubt that all pregnant women should be encouraged to get sufficient amounts of omega-3s. A diet rich in omega-3s during pregnancy can't be expected to solve everything, but our results show that such a diet has positive effects on a child's sensory, cognitive, and motor development. Benefits from eating fish with low contaminant levels and high omega-3 contents, such as trout, salmon, and sardines, far outweigh potential risks even during pregnancy, conclude the researchers.
ulaval/
More than two million Canadians have diabetes. Diabetes is an epidemic in Canada and around the world and its numbers are continuing to increase at an alarming rate, consuming our precious health care resources, says Dr. Gary Lewis, Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospitals in Toronto and Professor of Medicine and Physiology at the University of Toronto. We have good evidence from clinical trials which shows that lowering blood glucose levels towards normal in those who develop diabetes has a major impact in preventing its devastating complications, so it is critical that we learn how to control these levels in the most effective and least invasive ways possible. Dr. Lam's work reveals a new regulatory circuit which provides novel sites and targets to lower these levels in diabetes and obesity.
Dr. Richard Weisel, Director of the Toronto General Research Institute (TGRI), Professor and Chairman of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Toronto, welcomes any potential interventions which can help lower blood sugar levels. Studies have shown that people with very high blood glucose levels are more likely to die from heart disease, so anything that we can discover to help lower these levels would help in decreasing the progression of and mortality from cardiovascular disease.
"Tony's discovery represents an exciting breakthrough that could eventually lead to new ways to treat diabetes," observed Dr. Diane Finegood, Scientific Director of the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). "I am pleased that CIHR played a major role in funding this research".
Working with rats, Dr. Lam and colleagues designed and performed a series of elegant experiments which showed for the first time that the lipids or fats which enter the small intestine trigger the afferent neuronal signal to the brain which then sends signals to the liver to lower glucose production and blood glucose levels in as little as fifteen minutes. No drop in levels occurred when nerves were cut or blocked between the gut and the brain or between the brain and the liver. The trigger to lower glucose was also disabled when rats were fed a high-fat diet for three days prior to the experiment, a finding which may suggest that those who eat a high fat diet lose this beneficial signaling pathway.
cihr-irsc.gc/