Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in maternal blood and cord blood at birth in pregnancies with placental insufficiency

• Grant number: 12/07971-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2012
• End date: September 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Roseli Mieko Yamamoto Nomura
• Grantee: Roseli Mieko Yamamoto Nomura
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Renata Felipe Saffioti

Abstract

The fatty acid (FA) are structural components of cell membranes. The FA non synthesized by the human body are called essential fatty acids (EFA), which consist of two families: the Omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) and Omega-6 (linoleic acid). Arachidonic acid (AA) of the omega-6 and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) of omega-3 family is essential for the components of cell membranes and they are require for the neurological development, visual, vascular, cognitive, and fetal growth . Objectives: To analyze, that course in pregnancies with placental insufficiency and pregnant with no insufficiency, the concentration of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), verifying: the concentration of LC-PUFA in maternal blood and umbilical cord blood at birth, checking the passage of these components to the fetal circulation; the relationship between maternal anthropometric nutritional status and concentrations of LC-PUFA in maternal and fetal blood; the relationship between maternal dietary intake and the concentrations of LC-PUFA in maternal and fetal blood. Methods: This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional and prospective. Women will be included in the study when presenting the following criteria: gestational age greater than 26 completed weeks; diagnosis of placental insufficiency due to changes in Doppler umbilical artery, single and live fetus and absence of fetal anomalies. A control group will be studied of pregnant women without placental insufficiency, matched for gestational age in relation to the study group. Samples of maternal blood and umbilical cord at birth will be collected at the obstetric center, at the time of delivery. The concentrations of LC-PUFA will analized in the plasma from maternal blood and umbilical cord blood. Nutritional status will be investigated by anthropometric body mass index during pregnancy and assessment of eating habits will be performed by applying validated Frequency Questionnaire Food Consumption (FFQ). (AU)