[Breastfeeding assessment in children up to 2 years of age assisted in primary health care of Recife in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil].

The scope of this study was to evaluate exclusive and total breastfeeding in children up to 2 years of age treated in Basic Health Units (BHU) of Recife in the state of Pernambuco. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Basic Health Units of Mustardinha, Jardim Uchôa, Fernandes Figueira and Upinha Novo Prado. The study population consisted of children of 0 to 24 months of age.

Differential vulnerability of substantia nigra and corpus striatum to oxidative insult induced by reduced dietary levels of essential fatty acids.

Oxidative stress (OS) has been implicated in the etiology of certain neurodegenerative disorders. Some of these disorders have been associated with unbalanced levels of essential fatty acids (EFA). The response of certain brain regions to OS, however, is not uniform and a selective vulnerability or resilience can occur.

Dopaminergic cell populations of the rat substantia nigra are differentially affected by essential fatty acid dietary restriction over two generations.

Essential fatty acids play a crucial role in the activity of several neurotransmission systems, especially in the monoaminergic systems involved in cognitive and motor aspects of behavior. The present study investigated whether essential fatty acid dietary restriction over two generations could differentially affect dopaminergic cell populations located in the substantia nigra rostro-dorso-medial (SNrm) or caudo-ventro-lateral (SNcv) regions which display distinct neurochemical profile and vulnerability to lesions under selected pathological conditions. Wistar rats were raised from conception on control or experimental diets containing adequate or reduced levels of linoleic and α-linolenic fatty acids, respectively.

Nutritional restriction of omega-3 fatty acids alters topographical fine tuning and leads to a delay in the critical period in the rodent visual system.

The development and maturation of sensory systems depends on the correct pattern of connections which occurs during a critical period when axonal elimination and synaptic plasticity are involved in the formation of topographical maps. Among the mechanisms involved in synaptic stabilization, essential fatty acids (EFAs), available only through diet, appear as precursors of signaling molecules involved in modulation of gene expression and neurotransmitter release. Omega-3 fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are considered EFAs and are accumulated in the brain during fetal period and neonatal development.

Essential fatty acid deficiency reduces cortical spreading depression propagation in rats: a two-generation study.

Cortical spreading depression (CSD) propagation was investigated in rats under dietary essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency over two generations (F1 and F2). Wistar rat dams received diets containing 5% fat either from coconut-oil (EFA-deficient) or soybean-oil (control). F1-pups received their dams' diets until the day of CSD recording (30-40 days or 90-100 days).

NADPH-diaphorase histochemical labeling patterns in the hippocampal neuropil and visual cortical neurons in weaned rats reared during lactation on different litter sizes.

Tissue distribution of nitric oxide-synthases was investigated in the rat hippocampus and visual cortex under nutritional changes induced by modification of the litter size. Young (30-45-days-old) rats, suckled in litters formed by 3,6 or 12 pups (called small, medium and large litters, respectively), were studied by using nicotine-adenine-dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase histochemistry (shortly, diaphorase), a simple and robust procedure to characterize tissue distribution of nitric oxide-synthases. We assessed morphometric features of the diaphorase-positive cells in visual cortex, and the neuropil histochemical activity in hippocampal CA1 and dentate gyrus using densitometry analysis.