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J S Forsyth

Publications and source records attributed to J S Forsyth.

38 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

The role of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in infant cognitive development.

Dietary long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) in infancy are necessary for normal brain growth and development, and may play an important role in the development of infant cognition. Several randomized, controlled studies have evaluated the effects of feeding both term and preterm infants formula containing LCPUFA or no LCPUFA on a variety of measures of cognitive behaviour. Studies of the relation of LCPUFA to performance on tests of psychomotor development have produced inconsistent results, with supplemented infants demonstrating either higher scores or no differences in comparison to controls. This pattern suggests that global tests of development may be insufficiently sensitive for detecting the effects of LCPUFA on infant cognitive function. In contrast, studies assessing the influence of LCPUFA on development of specific cognitive behaviours have shown a significant advantage for supplemented infants on measures of visual attention and problem solving. These results suggest that LCPUFA may enhance more efficient information processing or attention regulation in infants. Whether there are any long-term effects of dietary LCPUFA in infancy on childhood cognition is not known.

Child Development↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Small intestinal permeability in pediatric clinical practice.

Passive permeability of small intestine to lactulose and mannitol was studied in children suspected of having intestinal disease, using a hypertonic differential sugar absorption test. Children with coeliac disease and cows' milk intolerance were shown to have an elevated urinary lactulose/mannitol recovery ratio when compared with controls, children with normal jejunal biopsy, or children in whom alternative explanations for failure to thrive had been demonstrated. The abnormality in permeability ratio principally reflects a reduced urinary recovery of mannitol following oral administration. This study demonstrates that a hypertonic sugar absorption test is well tolerated even by young children, is practicable in routine clinical pediatric practice, and is capable of demonstrating abnormal intestinal function in children with small intestinal disease.

Adolescent↗