Pleasant Stone Farm Clinical Reports

The development of a child’s brain in early pregnancy may be impaired by low folate levels in the mother, and lead to behavioural problems such as hyperactivity and inattention, says a new study.

Low folate levels in early pregnancy were associated with increased rates of childhood hyperactivity and peer problems, according to a study with 100 mothers and their children followed for almost nine years.

Scientists from the University of Southampton and University College London’s Institute of Child Health propose that the low folate levels impair the development of the brain in the foetus, and early pregnancy is a critical time for brain development.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study in humans to provide evidence for associations of maternal folate with behavioural outcomes in the offspring, and it is the first study to demonstrate a putative pathway via foetal head growth,” wrote the researchers in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

B for baby benefits

An overwhelming body of evidence links folate deficiency in early pregnancy to increased risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) – most commonly spina bifida and anencephaly – in infants. Most NTDs occur within the first 22 to 28 days of pregnancy, when the mother-to-be is not aware she is even pregnant.

Folic acid supplements after this time are too late to prevent neural tube defects and therefore fail to benefit women with unplanned pregnancies – more than half of all pregnancies in the US.

This connection led to the 1998 introduction of public health measures in the US and Canada, where all grain products are fortified with folic acid – the synthetic, bioavailable form of folate.

Preliminary evidence indicates that the measure is having an effect with a reported 15 to 50 per cent reduction in NTD incidence. A total of 51 countries now have some degree of mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

However, similar measures in other countries, including the UK where the new study was based, have been opposed by concerns that the folate/folic acid may mask vitamin B12 deficiency, which leads to a form of neurological problems.

Study details

Led by Southampton’s Dr Wolff Schlotz, the researchers recruited 100 mothers in early pregnancy and took blood samples to measure folate levels, and the followed them for an average of 8.75 years. The mothers reported on their children’s behaviour using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

The results showed that low maternal levels of folate were associated with both higher childhood hyperactivity and peer problems scores.

“Although the associations are small and residual confounding is possible, our data provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that lower folate status in early pregnancy might impair foetal brain development and affect hyperactivity/inattention and peer problems in childhood,” wrote Dr Schlotz and his co-workers.

Dutch researchers reported in the British Journal of Nutrition in September 2009 that the children of mothers who took folic acid supplements during pregnancy were better at internalising and externalising problems, compared to the children of mothers who did not take supplements.

Source: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
May 2010, Volume 51, Issue 5, Pages: 594-602
“Lower maternal folate status in early pregnancy is associated with childhood hyperactivity and peer problems in offspring”
Authors: W. Schlotz, A. Jones, D.I.W. Phillips, C.R. Gale, S.M. Robinson, K.M. Godfrey

Researchers have long thought inflammation was linked to cancer; and colitis, inflammation of the colon, increases the developmental risk of colon cancer. In a recent Chinese study published in Carcinogenesis, researchers obtained an oligogalactan composed of five galacturonic acids from apple pectin and evaluated its protective efficacy on intestinal toxicities and carcinogenesis in a mouse model of colitis-associated colon cancer induced by 1, 2-dimethyl-hydrazine (DMH) and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) (April 16, 2010).

The apple oligogalactan (AOG) was highly effective against intestinal toxicities and carcinogenesis and decreased the elevated levels of toll-like receptor4 (TLR4) and TNF-induced by inflammation in vivo. In vitro studies, AOG alone only slightly increased the levels of protein expression and mRNA of TLR4, phosphorylation of IB, and production of TNF- in HT-29 cells. However, AOG significantly decreased the elevation of all the biomarkers induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) when it was combined with LPS.

Researchers said: “The effect of AOG may be related to membrane internalization and redistribution of TLR4 from cell membrane to cytoplasm. AOG is active against inflammation and carcinogenesis through targeting LPS/TLR4/NF-B pathway. Both AOG and LPS are agonists of TLR4 for sharing the same ligand, but AOG has a much lower intrinsic activity than that of LPS. AOG may be useful for treatment of colitis and prevention of carcinogenesis in the clinics.”

Seniors with higher blood levels of vitamin D are also likely to have better physical function, suggests a new study that suggests higher recommended levels may be needed to ensure muscle health.

Physical function was highest in people with the highest blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) – the storage form of the vitamin in the body – while lower levels were associated with poorer physical function, scientists from Wake Forest University told attendees at the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting in Anaheim yesterday.

The study does not prove causality, however. Indeed, since we make vitamin D on exposure to sunlight, it is possible that people with better physical function have higher levels simply because they were able to get outside more often.

If future trials support the hypothesis that higher vitamin D may increase physical function in the elderly then increases in recommended intakes may be needed, said researchers led by Dr Denise Houston.

“Current dietary recommendations are based primarily on vitamin D’s effects on bone health,” she explained. “It is possible that higher amounts of vitamin D are needed for the preservation of muscle strength and physical function as well as other health conditions.

“However, clinical trials are needed to definitively determine whether increasing 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations through diet or supplements has an effect on these non-traditional outcomes,” added Dr Houston.

Vitamin D is well known to support muscle function, and the science supporting the link is sufficiently robust to have merited a positive opinion from the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA).

The Panel concluded that “a cause and effect relationship has been established between the dietary intake of vitamin D and contribution to the normal function of the immune system and healthy inflammatory response, and maintenance of normal muscle function”.

Study details

Dr Houston and her co-workers analysed data from 2,788 people with an average age of 75. Blood levels of 25(OH)D were measured at the start of the study, two years later, and then again after four years. These levels were then related to the physical function of the participants, measured by a variety of tests including how quickly they could walk 6 metres, how quickly they could rise from a chair five times, and how well they maintained their balance when asked to adopt a challenging position.

Data showed that people with the highest levels of vitamin D levels had better physical function. On the other hand, of the people with the lowest physical function 90 per cent of them had insufficient or deficient levels of vitamin D, said the researchers.

Science grows

In addition to the EFSA nod of approval, science continues to emerge to support the muscle-benefits of the vitamin, including a recent study from McGill University in Canada found that insufficient blood levels of vitamin D may be associated with the accumulation of fat in muscle tissue, leading to lower muscle strength.

The findings were said to be the first to show a clear link between vitamin D levels and the accumulation of fat in muscle tissue, and were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (doi:10.1210/jc.2009-2309).

Data presentation

Dr Houston presented as part of the scientific program of the American Society for Nutrition at the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting in Anaheim. NutraIngredients has not seen the full data.

The researchers were affiliated with Wake Forest University, the University of Georgia, University of Pittsburgh, University of California, San Francisco, University of Tennessee, VU University, Amsterdam, and the National Institute on Aging.