The essentiality of the unsaturated fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic, was described by Burr and Burr in a series of papers from the late 1920’s to the early 1930’s (Burr et al., 1932). They are incorporated into membranes as such, and are precursors for other unsaturated fatty acids that are key for metabolic regulation and cell membrane function and are essential to life for all mammals. Pr...

Nutrition of the infant is of paramount importance for at least two main reasons: (a) there is a fast rate of growth and tissue development; (b) organ specific phases of development take place, which are likely to be determinants of subsequent performance. Tissue development involves increase in size and number of cells. The fast rate of growth in infancy is reflected in the high energy require...

Low birth weight: Low birth weight is multifactorial in its causation. Short maternal stature, maternal anaemia, low energy intake and low weight gain in pregnancy, infections and smoking have all been identified as possible factors. The gestational age of liveborn infants in poor Indian communities appears to be significantly shorter than that reported for the developed countries. As an exampl...

Erythrocyte fatty acids and plasma vitamin E concentrations were determined in 47 grade 2 and 21 grade 3 malnourished Pakistani children (ages 4-56 months). Data were compared with those of 26 age- and sex-matched apparently healthy controls. Evaluation with three statistical approaches revealed that both grade 2 and grade 3 malnourished children had decreased erythrocyte omega6 fatty acids and...

Patients presenting to an eye care professional commonly complain of symptoms related to dry eye syndrome (DES), a multi-factorial condition causing instability of the tear film which can potentially result in ocular discomfort and reduced visual function.1 It is estimated that up to a quarter of individuals seen in an optometric clinical setting report symptoms associated with dry eyes, a stat...

An extensive clinical study is being made to evaluate the role of the essential fatty acids in infant feeding. After care ful explanation of the nature of the study, the mothers of several hundred infants have chosen to participate. The chief criteria of selection are that the parents seem anxious to co operate and that the infants are normal neonates. The individ ual subjects include children ...

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) and their long-chain polyenes (LCPs) are indispensable for human development and health. Because humans cannot synthesize EFAs and can only ineffectively synthesize LCPs, EFAs need to be consumed as part of the diet. Consequently, the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) status of the developing fetus depends on that of its mother, as confirmed by the positive relation...

The objective of the present study was to investigate the relation between adipose tissue polyunsaturated fatty acids, an index of long-term or habitual fatty acid dietary intake, and depression. The sample consisted of 247 healthy adults (146 males, 101 females) from the island of Crete. The number of subjects with complete data on all variables studied was 139. Subjects were examined at the P...

OBJECTIVE To review the role of essential fatty acids in brain membrane function and in the genesis of psychiatric disease. METHOD Medline databases were searched for published articles with links among the following key words: essential fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexanoic acid, eicosapentanoic acid, arachidonic acid, neurotransmission, phospholipase A2, depression, schizophrenia...

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