PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Ballabriga

Publications and source records attributed to A Ballabriga.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Lipids of the developing human retina: I. Total fatty acids, plasmalogens, and fatty acid composition of ethanolamine and choline phosphoglycerides.

The total fatty acid composition of the human retina was studied during early normal development and compared to that found in infancy and in adulthood. The retina of an infant undernourished prenatally and of two malnourished postnatally were also studied and compared to the normal values for the age. The fatty acid patterns of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides (EPG) and choline phosphoglycerides (CPG) were also studied. Total and ethanolamine plasmalogens (EP) were estimated by the aldehyde dimethyl acetal (DMA) content of total lipids and of EPG, respectively. After acid methanolysis, analyses of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and of DMA were effected by capillary GLC on a single 30 m long, SP-2330, capillary column. The main developmental fatty acid changes were an increase in 22:6 omega 3, 22:5 omega 3 and 20:3 omega 6 and a decrease in 20:4 omega 6. The 22:6 omega 3/20:4 omega 6 ratio increased in a very significant, parabolical way throughout development. In contrast to the brain, the proportion of ethanolamine plasmalogens decreased with maturation, whereas the ratio 18DMA/16DMA increased. The two postnatally malnourished infants had a very significant increase in retinal 22:5 omega 6, but only the child that had been fed on a very unbalanced omega 3/omega 6 diet since 25 weeks of gestation showed an important decrease in retinal 22:6 omega 3.

Aging↗
PubMed1987

Effects of parenteral nutrition with high doses of linoleate on the developing human liver and brain.

The developmental changes in the fatty acid composition of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides (EPG) and choline phosphoglycerides (CPG) were studied in the liver and brain of 18 newborn infants with gestational ages ranging from 20 to 44 wk. A small group of five newborns receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN) with high doses of linoleic acid (18:2 omega 6) was also studied and compared to controls of the same gestational age to look for effects on the developmental fatty acid patterns of liver and brain EPG and CPG. TPN with Intralipid 20% was given for 4-12 days, the total fat intake being 14.7-90 g (mean +/- S.D. = 47.1 +/- 29.8 g). The main developmental changes in the liver and brain of the control group were an increase in 22:6 omega 3 (docosahexaenoic acid) at the end of gestation and a linear decrease in 20:4 omega 6 (arachidonic acid) and 18:1 omega 9 (oleic acid) in EPG and CPG. A very good correlation in the percent values of these fatty acids in the brain and liver tissues was obtained. Very significant changes in the fatty acid composition of liver EPG and CPG could be found in the infants receiving TPN with Intralipid-mainly an increase in 18:2 omega 6, a decrease in the linoleate elongation/desaturation to longer members of the series and a decrease in the 22:6 omega 3 levels of liver EPG and CPG. In the brain, only an increase in the 18:2 omega 6 value of CPG, not accompanied by any increase in the longer omega 6 fatty acids, could be detected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Brain↗
PubMed1985

Morphologic and metabolic development of human fetal epiphyseal chondrocytes in primary culture.

Primary chondrocyte culture was carried out after enzymatic digestion of femoral and tibial epiphyseal cartilage of human fetuses, collected with informed parental consent within 12 h postmortem. Chondrocytes were cultured in HAM F-12 medium with penicillin and 15% serum. Three types of serum were used: human placental cord serum (HPS), fetal calf serum, and human male adult serum. Chondrocytes cultured with HPS grew as monolayers, formed abundant colony groups with a highly metachromatic pericellular matrix, and floating round cells were observed in the culture medium. By the 10th day of culture the great majority of proteoglycans present in the culture medium were found as aggregates. Chondrocytes cultured with fetal calf serum or human male adult serum grew as monolayers, were polygonal in shape, and the pericellular matrix was far less developed than in HPS cultures. By the confluent phase of growth, only approximately a third of the proteoglycans present in the culture medium were found as aggregates. Chondrocytes cultured with HPS proliferated significantly more rapidly than those cultured with fetal calf serum or human male adult serum. The results suggest that certain, as yet unidentified, factors are present in sufficient amount in HPS to allow chondrocytes in culture to retain phenotypic morphological and biochemical characteristics. HPS also facilitates growth of human fetal epiphyseal chondrocytes in culture. Primary human fetal epiphyseal chondrocyte culture could be a suitable experimental tool for the in vitro study of biochemical characteristics of cartilage and factors involved in fetal cartilage metabolism.

Blood↗
PubMed1984

Androgen metabolism by human fetal epiphyseal cartilage and its chondrocytes in primary culture.

Androgen metabolism by human epiphyseal cartilage and chondrocytes in primary culture was studied during fetal life. Testosterone (T) and androstendione (delta 4) were incubated with epiphyseal cartilage and with chondrocytes in Dulbecco's medium for 4, 12, and 24 h. Androstanedione, delta 4, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and androstanediol were separated by bidimensional thin layer chromatography and delta 4, DHT, and T recrystallized in five different solvent systems. The results showed that delta 4 was transformed into androstanedione, DHT, and T whereas T was metabolized into delta 4 and 5 alpha-reduced androgens. In both systems (epiphyseal cartilage and chondrocytes) delta 4 was the principal metabolite produced from T. There were no major differences in the metabolic patterns of delta 4 and T between epiphyseal cartilage and chondrocytes according to sex nor gestational age (11-32 weeks). In conclusion, 5 alpha-reductase activity was found in chondrocytes from human fetuses of both sexes, but T was mainly transformed into delta 4.

Androgens↗
PubMed1981

Insulin receptors in human placenta in relation to fetal weight and gestational age.

Insulin receptors were studied in human placentas from 26 wk to term, according to fetal and placental weight. Insulin-binding studies were performed in purified membranes with monoiodoinsulin biologically active. We found a marked decrease in receptor number in placentas corresponding to small for gestational age infants (S.G.A.) in relation to preterm and full-term adequate for gestational age (A.G.A.). Maximal insulin binding in human placentas was reached before 26 wk of gestation.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1979

Organic acids in urine from preterm infants.

The organic acid excretion was studied in urine samples from 26 preterm infants on the 1st and 5th days of life and the results compared to those obtained in 5 samples from full-term neonates. Gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry with a computer system was the method used in this work. The acids tabulated were those more closely related to lactic acidosis and the Krebs cycle. Great variations were found in the excretion of these acids in preterm infants in contrast to the very homogeneous pattern obtained in full-term neonates.

Acetates↗
PubMed1978

A chemical study on the development of the human forebrain and cerebellum during the brain 'growth spurt' period. I. Gangliosides and plasmalogens.

Following upon previous studies on the lipid composition of the developing human brain, a further study is presented with the main object of tracing the chemical changes underlying the period of brain 'growth spurt'. Gangliosides and plasmalogens were selected as approximate markers of synaptogenesis and myelination, respectively, and these lipids were compared in cerebrum and cerebellum to establish the time, if any, at which their rate of accretion increases in a significant way. In the forebrain the rate of increase in concentration of these lipids accelerated at about the 32nd week of gestational age. Although there were too few postnatal cases to draw very firm conclusions, it seemed that the ganglioside concentration levelled off at about two months postnatal age and that the plasmalogen concentration reached a plateau between the 4th and the 6th postnatal months. In the cerebellum the concentration of gangliosides was clearly lower than that in the forebrain until about one year of age, the maximum rate of increase occurring between the last weeks of gestation and the second postnatal month. The plasmalogen concentration was somewhat higher in the cerebellum than in the forebrain but the concentration profile was similar to that followed by the gangliosides. In clear contrast with the concentration profiles in the cerebrum, in the cerebellum both lipids apparently continued to increase up to the second postnatal year. A mainly perinatal period of vulnerability is suggested for the forebrain, and a more prolonged one (probably until the second year of life) for the cerebellum.

Cerebellum↗
PubMed1978

A chemical study on the development of the human forebrain and cerebellum during the brain 'growth spurt' period. II. Phosphoglyceride fatty acids.

The changes of the fatty acid composition of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides (EPG) and choline phosphoglycerides (CPG) that are associated with the maturation of the human forebrain and cerebellum have been studied. The increase in the n-3 fatty acids and the 22:4(n-6)/22:5(n-6) index in the forebrain during the second half of gestation was confirmed in the present series. In the cerebellum, on the other hand, these two parameters were higher than in the cerebrum and did not show any significant change throughout the period studied. The percentage of 18:1(n-9) changed in an opposite sense in the cerebrum and in the cerebellum, i.e. it decreased with gestational age in the cerebrum, whereas it increased markedly in the cerebellum. Consequently, the 18:0/18:1(n-9) index, which increased with maturation in the cerebrum, decreased in the cerebellum.

Cerebellum↗
PubMed1976

Changes in erythrocyte lipid stroma in the premature infant according to dietary fat composition.

Eighteen premature infants of similar gestational age, divided into three groups, were fed 3 milk formulas containing different amounts of linoleic acid. All the cases received 120 calories per kg of weight and day, of which formula A supplied 6.1% of the dietary total calories as linoleic acid, formula B 15.9% and formula C only 0.6%. The fatty acids of red cell ethanolamine and choline phosphoglycerides were studied in a first sample obtained during the first hours of life before the infants had received any food, and in a second sample taken at the age of three weeks. In the group fed formula C (0.6% of the total calories) changes similar to those described in EFA-deficient rats were found, namely, a decrease of linoleic acid, and an increase of oleic acid and of 20:3 (n-9), with a consequent rise of the triene to tetraene ratio. When the supply of linoleate was highest (15.9% of the total caloric intake) linoleic acid increased, oleic acid decreased and the 20:3 (n-9) practically disappeared. None of the three groups showed any clinical symptoms.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

[Role of proteins in the feeding of low birth weight infants (author's transl)].

Role of proteins in the feeding of low birth weight newborns is reviewed. After studies carried on 71 l.b.w. newborns fed with formulas from 2.75 to 5.3 grs./Kg./day of protein, several conclusions are obtained: some amino-acids no essential "per se" might have to be considered as so in the neonatal period. Under 3 grs./Kg./day biochemical findings are similar to those under malnutrition with proteic and caloric deficit. Over 3.8 grs./Kg./day hypertyrosinemias are frequent. With this offer, aminoacid indexes seem to be satisfactory, transferryn values are normal, increase in plasma proteins is significative, and renal overdosage of solutes is not high.

Amino Acids↗