Research Clusters
Overview
In 1972 the research group showed that arachidonic (AA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids were critical determinants for brain development. The comparative studies had demonstrated that the difference between species was not the chemistry of the brain but the extent to which the brain evolved. That is different principles were involved in brain and body growth. As the body is largely protein and the brain lipid, the research became focussed on the lipids and their essential fatty acids.As early as 1976 they showed that human milk from several countries universally contained AA and DHA. They also found that infants fed on formula without AA and DHA rapidly lost these fatty acids from their circulating lipids. As deficiency of brain AA and DHA was shown to reduce brain cell number and cognitive ability by this group and by Professors Paoletti and Galli in Milan, the conclusion was that all infant formula should contain AA and DHA as was present in human milk. This conclusion was accepted by the Expert Joint Consultation of WHO and FAO in 1977-78 on the Role of Dietary Fats and Oils in Human Nutrition. It was not however to be acted upon by the formula companies until the early 1990s when the FAO and WHO reconvened and repeated the recommendation in 1994.
IBCHN is one of the pioneers of the methodology for the analysis of highly unsaturated fatty acids, work for which it has won two International awards. The 1995 International Award for Modern Nutrition and the Hofmann la Roche Centenary award in 1996 for its work on essential fatty acids and the brain lipids. It has also made an important contribution to the understanding of the role of lipid nutrition in human origins (See cover story 'Take the Plunge' New Scientist, 25th November 2000).The IBCHN has been dedicated to understanding the link between the environment and health particularly as it affects the brain. Our demonstration in 1972 that AA and DHA were limiting factors for brain growth has now been extensively confirmed and is a central feature of the research.
The first focus is to help fill the gap in research to invest in the health and ability of future children. The Global Forum of Health (www.globalforumhealth.org) in its report in March 2000 states mental ill health has already joined the top ten in the list of the global burden of ill-health. By year 2020 mental ill-health the Forum predicts that perinatal conditions, vascular disease and mental ill health will be the top three in the ranking of the worldwide burden of ill health. In fact the audit of European burden of ill health in June 2005 concluded that brain disorders, as predicted, had now overtaken all other disorders at a cost of 386 billion Euros at 2004 prices for the 25 member states of the EU. Heart disease has now been relegated to second place. Like obesity, the rapid rise in mental ill health has been sharpest amongst the young children.Its first focus is therefore on low birthweight, fetal and neonatal brain development because uniquely amongst animal species, human physiology devotes 70% of the fetal energy consumption to brain development. Therefore damage during early development can cause life long disorders such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness.
Previous Research Activities & Output
- IBCHN within the Nuffield Institute of Comparative Medicine 1965-89.
- IBCHN in North East London. 1989-
Current Research
- Membrane Protein/lipid and lipid/ lipid domains and their influence on signaling and gene expression.
- Membrane lipid distortion in the aetiology of chronic diseases such as diabetes, sickle cell anemia, multiple sclerosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, etc.
- The role of arachidonic acid deficiency in impaired vascular development and fragility, viz. the complications of prematurity and haemorrhagic stroke.
- Maternal nutrition, prenatal programming and pregnancy outcome - comparative intervention studies.
