Deoni Sean Cl, Beauchemin Jennifer, D'Sa Viren, Bonham Kevin, Klepac-Ceraj Vanja
Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University.
Wellesley College.
Res Sq. 2024 Oct 18:rs.3.rs-4999582. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4999582/v1.
Myelination is a fundamental process of neurodevelopment that facilitates the efficient brain messaging and connectivity that underlies the emergence and refinement of cognitive skills and abilities. Healthy maturation of the myelinated white matter requires appropriate neural activity and coordinated delivery of key nutritional building blocks, including short and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, phospholipids, and sphingolipids. While many of these nutrients are amply supplied by breastmilk, they are often provided in only limited quantities in infant formula milk. Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) is a rich source of phospholipids, including sphingomyelin and has been associated with improved cognitive development in infants and children when added to infant formula. To determine if added bovine MFGM is also associated with improved myelination, this study used myelin-sensitive MRI to compare myelination trends in healthy infants and toddlers who received the same infant formula with and without added bovine MFGM in two temporal cohorts: Without Added MFGM between 2009 and 2016; and With Added MFGM between 2018-2020. We also used the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) to compare verbal, non-verbal, and overall cognitive abilities. Matched for important demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, we found that children who received infant formula with added MFGM showed improved myelination in motor-related areas (motor cortices, internal capsule, and cerebellum) and improved MSEL nonverbal and fine motor scores. No significant differences in verbal or overall cognitive ability scores were noted. These results support the importance of phospholipids, sphingolipids, and sphingomyelin in promoting brain myelination and cognitive development.
髓鞘形成是神经发育的一个基本过程,它促进大脑高效的信息传递和连接,而这种信息传递和连接是认知技能和能力出现及完善的基础。髓鞘化白质的健康成熟需要适当的神经活动以及关键营养成分的协调供应,这些营养成分包括短链和长链多不饱和脂肪酸、磷脂和鞘脂。虽然母乳中富含许多此类营养物质,但婴儿配方奶粉中这些营养物质的含量往往有限。乳脂肪球膜(MFGM)是磷脂的丰富来源,包括鞘磷脂,当添加到婴儿配方奶粉中时,已被证明与婴幼儿认知发育的改善有关。为了确定添加牛源MFGM是否也与髓鞘形成的改善有关,本研究使用对髓鞘敏感的磁共振成像(MRI)来比较两个时间段队列中健康婴幼儿的髓鞘形成趋势,这些婴幼儿接受了添加和未添加牛源MFGM的相同婴儿配方奶粉:2009年至2016年未添加MFGM组;2018年至2020年添加MFGM组。我们还使用了穆伦早期学习量表(MSEL)来比较语言、非语言和整体认知能力。在重要的人口统计学和社会经济特征相匹配的情况下,我们发现接受添加了MFGM的婴儿配方奶粉的儿童在与运动相关的区域(运动皮层、内囊和小脑)的髓鞘形成得到改善,并且MSEL非语言和精细运动得分提高。在语言或整体认知能力得分方面未发现显著差异。这些结果支持了磷脂、鞘脂和鞘磷脂在促进脑髓鞘形成和认知发育中的重要性。