Long-term eicosapentaenoic plus docosahexanoic acid supplementation (8 months) has positive effects, such as decreasing inflammation, in cystic fibrosis.

The influence of dietary long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCP) supply, and especially of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), on evoked potential maturation, was studied in 58 healthy preterm infants using flash visual evoked potentials (VEPs), flash electroretinography (ERG), and brainstem acoustic evoked potentials (BAEPs) at 52 weeks of postconceptional age. At the same time, the fatty acid composition of red blood cell membranes was examined. The infants were fed on breast mlk (n=12), a preterm formula supplemented with LCP (PF-LCP)(n = 21), or a traditional preterm formula (PF)(n= 25). In the breast milk and PF-LCP groups the morphology and latencies of the waves that reflect the visual projecting system were similar; in the PF group the morphology was quite different and the wave latencies were significantly longer.This could mean that the maturation pattern of VEPs in preterm infants who did not receive LCP was slower. Moreover, a higher level of erythrocyte LCP, especially DHA, was found in breast milk and PF-LCP groups compared with the PF group. ERG and BAEP recordings were the same in all three groups.These results suggest that a well balanced LCP supplement in preterm formulas can positively influence the maturation of visual evoked potentials in preterm infants when breast milk is not available. During the third trimester of human fetal growth and the first four to six postnatal months, long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCP) and especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), accumulate in the brain and retina. This coincides with the rapid maturation of the nervous system and photoreceptors."13 Preterm infants may be LCP deficient because of both the lack of intrauterine nutrition in the last months of pregnancy and the relative immaturity of the enzymes necessary to elongate and desaturate their essential fatty acid precursors.4 An LCP supplement, and especially DHA, in preterm formulas improves maturation of rod photoreceptor function and visual acuity in early postnatal development.As far as we know, an evaluation of the influence of infant diet on neurophysiological maturation of flash visual evoked potentials (VEPs) and low rate brainstem acoustic evoked potentials (BAEPs) has never been carried out. We therefore performed a prospective controlled single blind study on preterm infants to evaluate the effect of LCP, either incorporated into the formula or present in breast milk, on the maturation of flash VEPs, flash electroretinography (ERG), and low rate BAEPs. Moreover, we analysed the fatty acid composition in red blood cell membranes as an index of neural and retinal tissue composition. MethodsSixty six preterm infants were enrolled in the study: they were less than 33 weeks of gestational age, of appropriate weight, and with no malformation that could interfere with somatic and/or psychomotor development. They had no neurological, visual, acoustic or gastroenterological illnesses. None had experienced perinatal asphyxia. All of them had normal fundus oculi. By the 10th day of life all o...

Background: Elemental diet is considered an effective primary treatment for active Crohn's disease, but it is usually given by a feeding tube. Methods: Twenty‐two patients (12 males, median age 30 years, range 18–60) with moderately active Crohn's disease were enrolled in a randomized study in which the efficacy of an elemental diet administered orally was compared to high‐dose corticosteroids in achieving clinical and laboratory remission. Ten patients were treated by oral elemental diet (Peptamen, Clintec, USA) and 10 received corticosteroids. Both treatment regimens lasted 2 weeks. The two groups did not differ with respect to age, sex, body weight, location of disease, treatment or disease activity prior to the study. In all patients studied, simple Crohn's disease activity index, nutritional status (expressed as body mass index), percentage of ideal body weight, fat mass, fat free mass, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, interleukin‐6, intestinal permeability (expressed as permeability index), prealbumin, retinol binding protein and multiskin test were evaluated before and after treatment. Results: After 2 weeks of treatment, there were significant improvements in simple Crohn's disease activity index, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, permeability index, body mass index, prealbumin, retinol binding protein and multiskin test in the elemental diet group. There were significant improvements in simple Crohn's disease activity index and fat free mass in the corticosteroid group. Conclusions: These data suggest that, in the short term, an oral elemental diet is at least as effective as steroids in inducing remission of mild‐moderately active Crohn's disease, but it may be more effective in improving the nutritional status of these patients, probably through a more rapid restoration of normal intestinal permeability.

The impact of dietary supplementation with essential fatty acids (EFA) on recurrent respiratory infections (RRI) in children was evaluated by means of a randomized cross-over double-blind study. Linoleic acid (596 mg/day) and alpha-linolenic acid [855 mg/day] as a commercial preparation or placebo (olive oil) were administered for two consecutive winter seasons (November to February, T0-T120) to 20 children affected by RRI, aged between 36 and 49 months. Plasma levels of n-3 and n-6 metabolites increased after the administration of EFA. The number of infective episodes, days' fever and days' absence from school were reduced significantly during the observation period (extended from T120 to T180) in children receiving EFA supplementation. Our results suggest that n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids may play a favourable role in the defence mechanism of these subjects.

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