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The Effect of Lipid Nutrients on Brain Function

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Lipids".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 January 2021) | Viewed by 22072

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jordi Julvez

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Guest Editor

Pere Virgili Institute for Health Research (IISPV), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43003 Tarragona, Spain
Interests: neuropsychological development; human cognition; nutrition; epidemiology; environmental sciences; child health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For this Special Issue, we would like to invite papers about the effects of lipid nutrients on human brain functioning, in particular reporting research about lipid-related diet, lipid biomarkers, and corresponding mental health outcomes. Brain function could be assessed by neuropsychological tests, behavioural and emotional rating scales, or neuroimaging measurements. The papers can describe studies performed at any period of human life course, from pregnancy to elderly age.

Many questions about the role of lipids in the brain are still unsolved, such as which lipids are positively or adversely associated with brain function and may serve as biomarkers of brain activity, whether lipid nutrients can be adequately acquired from the diet, or what effects they exert when administered as a supplement in randomized trials. Furthermore, we are missing studies trying to investigate the potential biological pathways regulated by lipids and associated with human brain function. These studies may include measurements of lipid metabolites or genetic markers of lipid metabolism.

We welcome different types of submissions, including original research articles and up-to-date reviews (systematic reviews and meta-analyses).

Dr. Jordi Julvez
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Essential Fatty Acids
Cholesterol
Saturated Fatty acids
Neuropsychological Functions
Behavioral Symptoms
Neuroimaging
Human Studies

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 3024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dairy-Derived Emulsifiers in Infant Formula Show Marginal Effects on the Plasma Lipid Profile and Brain Structure in Preterm Piglets Relative to Soy Lecithin

by Nicole L. Henriksen, Karoline Aasmul-Olsen, Ramakrishnan Venkatasubramanian, Mikkel K. E. Nygaard, Richard R. Sprenger, Anne B. Heckmann, Marie S. Ostenfeld, Christer S. Ejsing, Simon F. Eskildsen, Anette Müllertz, Per T. Sangild, Stine B. Bering and Thomas Thymann

Nutrients 2021, 13(3), 718; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13030718 - 24 Feb 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5169

Abstract

Breastfed infants have higher intestinal lipid absorption and neurodevelopmental outcomes compared to formula-fed infants, which may relate to a different surface layer structure of fat globules in infant formula. This study investigated if dairy-derived emulsifiers increased lipid absorption and neurodevelopment relative to soy lecithin in newborn preterm piglets. Piglets received a formula diet containing soy lecithin (SL) or whey protein concentrate enriched in extracellular vesicles (WPC-A-EV) or phospholipids (WPC-PL) for 19 days. Both WPC-A-EV and WPC-PL emulsions, but not the intact diets, increased in vitro lipolysis compared to SL. The main differences of plasma lipidomics analysis were increased levels of some sphingolipids, and lipid molecules with odd-chain (17:1, 19:1, 19:3) as well as mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acyl chains (16:1, 20:1, 20:3) in the WPC-A-EV and WPC-PL groups and increased 18:2 fatty acyls in the SL group. Indirect monitoring of intestinal triacylglycerol absorption showed no differences between groups. Diffusor tensor imaging measurements of mean diffusivity in the hippocampus were lower for WPC-A-EV and WPC-PL groups compared to SL indicating improved hippocampal maturation. No differences in hippocampal lipid composition or short-term memory were observed between groups. In conclusion, emulsification of fat globules in infant formula with dairy-derived emulsifiers altered the plasma lipid profile and hippocampal tissue diffusivity but had limited effects on other absorptive and learning abilities relative to SL in preterm piglets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Lipid Nutrients on Brain Function)

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16 pages, 498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Is Associated with Decreased Incidence of Alzheimer’s Dementia in the Oldest Old

by Debora Melo van Lent, Sarah Egert, Steffen Wolfsgruber, Luca Kleineidam, Leonie Weinhold, Holger Wagner-Thelen, Wolfgang Maier, Frank Jessen, Alfredo Ramirez, Matthias Schmid, Martin Scherer, Steffi G. Riedel-Heller and Michael Wagner

Nutrients 2021, 13(2), 461; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13020461 - 30 Jan 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4890

Abstract

Background. Omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may have different effects on cognitive health due to their anti- or pro-inflammatory properties. Methods. We aimed to prospectively examine the relationships between n-3 and n-6 PUFA contents in serum phospholipids with incident all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD). We included 1264 non-demented participants aged 84 ± 3 years from the German Study on Ageing, Cognition, and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe) multicenter-cohort study. We investigated whether fatty acid concentrations in serum phospholipids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), linoleic acid (LA), dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA), and arachidonic acid (AA), were associated with risk of incident all-cause dementia and AD. Results. During the follow-up window of seven years, 233 participants developed dementia. Higher concentrations of EPA were associated with a lower incidence of AD (hazard ratio (HR) 0.76 (95% CI 0.63; 0.93)). We also observed that higher concentrations of EPA were associated with a decreased risk for all-cause dementia (HR 0.76 (95% CI 0.61; 0.94)) and AD (HR 0.66 (95% CI 0.51; 0.85)) among apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) non-carriers but not among APOE ε4 carriers. No other fatty acids were significantly associated with AD or dementia. Conclusions. Higher concentrations of EPA were associated with a lower risk of incident AD. This further supports a beneficial role of n-3 PUFAs for cognitive health in old age. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Lipid Nutrients on Brain Function)

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25 pages, 829 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Verbal Memory Performance in Depressed Children and Adolescents: Associations with EPA but Not DHA and Depression Severity

by Sophie Emery, Isabelle Häberling, Gregor Berger, Noemi Baumgartner, Michael Strumberger, Mona Albermann, Kristin Nalani, Klaus Schmeck, Suzanne Erb, Silke Bachmann, Lars Wöckel, Ulrich Müller-Knapp, Brigitte Contin-Waldvogel, Bruno Rhiner, Susanne Walitza, Martin Hersberger and Renate Drechsler

Nutrients 2020, 12(12), 3630; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu12123630 - 25 Nov 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3142

Abstract

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have been described as positively associated with cognitive functioning. Current meta-analyses have identified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) as potentially more effective than docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). An especially vulnerable subgroup that might benefit from these beneficial effects are depressed youths. In this study, we examined associations between red blood cell (RBC) DHA and EPA levels and depression severity and verbal memory performance in a sample of 107 moderately (n = 63) and severely (n = 44) depressed youths. The findings showed that youths with high RBC EPA levels had steeper learning curves compared to those with moderate or low RBC EPA levels (Pillai’s Trace = 0.195, p = 0.027, η_p² = 0.097). No associations between RBC DHA levels or depression severity and verbal memory performance were observed. Our results further confirm previous findings indicating a more important role of EPA compared to DHA in relation to cognitive functioning. Future research should further investigate the differential role of EPA and DHA concerning cognitive functioning in depressed youths. Evidence supporting beneficial supplementation effects could potentially establish a recommendation for a natural and easily accessible intervention for cognitive improvement or remission. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Lipid Nutrients on Brain Function)

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Review

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21 pages, 3946 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Docosahexaenoic and Arachidonic Acids as Neuroprotective Nutrients throughout the Life Cycle

by Verónica Sambra, Francisca Echeverria, Alfonso Valenzuela, Raphaël Chouinard-Watkins and Rodrigo Valenzuela

Nutrients 2021, 13(3), 986; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13030986 - 18 Mar 2021

Cited by 62 | Viewed by 8075

Abstract

The role of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) in neurogenesis and brain development throughout the life cycle is fundamental. DHA and AA are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) vital for many human physiological processes, such as signaling pathways, gene expression, structure and function of membranes, among others. DHA and AA are deposited into the lipids of cell membranes that form the gray matter representing approximately 25% of the total content of brain fatty acids. Both fatty acids have effects on neuronal growth and differentiation through the modulation of the physical properties of neuronal membranes, signal transduction associated with G proteins, and gene expression. DHA and AA have a relevant role in neuroprotection against neurodegenerative pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, which are associated with characteristic pathological expressions as mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress. The present review analyzes the neuroprotective role of DHA and AA in the extreme stages of life, emphasizing the importance of these LCPUFA during the first year of life and in the developing/prevention of neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Lipid Nutrients on Brain Function)

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