Guest guest Posted June 7, 2010 Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 Funny I was wondering about Downs lately. Thinking it's got such an obvious environmental cause or part-cause because it occurs more frequently in older mums. bbrowne123 wrote: > > hope no one has posted this already > > http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/190922.php > > Key Nutrient In Maternal Diet Promises 'Dramatic' Improvements For > People With Down Syndrome > 05 Jun 2010 > > A nutrient found in egg yolks, liver and cauliflower taken by mothers > during pregnancy and nursing may offer lifelong " dramatic " health > benefits to people with Down syndrome . > > A new study carried out at Cornell University and published June 2 in > the peer-reviewed journal Behavioral Neuroscience found that more > choline during pregnancy and nursing could provide lasting cognitive > and emotional benefits to people with Down syndrome. The work > indicated greater maternal levels of the essential nutrient also could > protect against neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. > > " We found that supplementing the maternal diet with additional choline > resulted in dramatic improvements in attention and some normalization > of emotion regulation in a mouse model of Down syndrome, " said lead > author Barbara Strupp, professor of nutritional sciences and of > psychology. > > In addition to mental retardation, Down syndrome individuals often > experience dementia in middle age as a result of brain neuron atrophy > similar to that suffered by people with Alzheimer's disease. Strupp > said the improved mental abilities found in the Down syndrome mice > following maternal choline supplements could indicate protection from > such neurodegeneration " in the population at large. " > > Strupp and her co-authors tested Down syndrome-model mice born from > mothers that were fed a normal diet versus those given choline > supplements during their three-week pregnancy and three-week lactation > period. They also examined normal mice born from mothers with and > without additional choline. The choline-supplemented mothers received > about 4.5 times more choline (roughly comparable to levels at the > higher range of human intake) than unsupplemented mothers. > > Beginning at 6 months of age, the mice performed a series of > behavioral tasks over a period of about six months to assess their > impulsivity, attention span, emotional control and other mental > abilities. The researchers found the unsupplemented Down > syndrome-model mice became more agitated after a mistake than normal > mice, jumping repeatedly and taking longer to initiate the next trial. > The choline-supplemented Down syndrome-model mice showed partial > improvement in these areas. > > " I'm impressed by the magnitude of the cognitive benefits seen in the > Down syndrome-model mice, " Strupp said. " Moreover, these are clearly > lasting cognitive improvements, seen many months after the period of > choline supplementation. " > > Strupp said the results are consistent with studies by other > researchers that found increased maternal choline intake improves > offspring cognitive abilities in rats. However, this is the first > study to evaluate the effects of maternal choline supplementation in a > rodent model of Down syndrome. > > Previous studies of humans and laboratory animals have shown that > supplementing the diets of adults with choline has proven to be > largely ineffective in improving cognition. > > " Although the precise mechanism is unknown, these lasting beneficial > effects of choline observed in the present study are likely to be > limited to increased intake during very early development, " Strupp said. > > The study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, was > part of the dissertation of Cornell doctoral candidate Jisook Moon. > Other Cornell collaborators included Myla Strawderman, research > associate in nutritional sciences, and Levitsky, professor of > nutrition and psychology. Strupp and collaborators have received > additional NIH funding to study the neural mechanisms underlying the > results observed in this study. > > Source: > Carberry > Cornell University > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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