H
Hua Kul
Guest
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994771
Nutrient during pregnancy 'super-charges' brain
13:05 12 March 04
NewScientist.com news service
Taking a nutrient called choline during pregnancy could
"super-charge" children's brains for life, suggests a
study in rats.
Offspring born to pregnant rats given the supplement were
known to be faster learners with better memories. But the
new work, by Scott Swartzwelder and colleagues at Duke
University Medical Center in North Carolina, US, shows this
is due to having bigger brain cells in vital areas.
Choline, a member of the vitamin B family, is found in egg
yolks, liver and other meats - "exactly the kind of things
people were told not to eat" due to their high cholesterol
content, says Swartzwelder.
He believes their results in the rats could translate to
humans, and indeed the US Institute of Medicine added
choline to the list of essential nutrients, particularly for
pregnant women, in its 2003 recommendations.
The implications of the study's findings are "potentially
huge" Swartzwelder believes: "If it turns out that it's true
in humans and can make people smarter their whole lives and
forestall age-related memory decline - that's potentially a
very exciting prospect."
--Hua Kul
Nutrient during pregnancy 'super-charges' brain
13:05 12 March 04
NewScientist.com news service
Taking a nutrient called choline during pregnancy could
"super-charge" children's brains for life, suggests a
study in rats.
Offspring born to pregnant rats given the supplement were
known to be faster learners with better memories. But the
new work, by Scott Swartzwelder and colleagues at Duke
University Medical Center in North Carolina, US, shows this
is due to having bigger brain cells in vital areas.
Choline, a member of the vitamin B family, is found in egg
yolks, liver and other meats - "exactly the kind of things
people were told not to eat" due to their high cholesterol
content, says Swartzwelder.
He believes their results in the rats could translate to
humans, and indeed the US Institute of Medicine added
choline to the list of essential nutrients, particularly for
pregnant women, in its 2003 recommendations.
The implications of the study's findings are "potentially
huge" Swartzwelder believes: "If it turns out that it's true
in humans and can make people smarter their whole lives and
forestall age-related memory decline - that's potentially a
very exciting prospect."
--Hua Kul