Enitan Ogundipe
Imperial College London, UK
Title: Maternal LCPUFA status, infant first meconium and newborn MRI brain volumetrics
Biography
Biography: Enitan Ogundipe
Abstract
Introduction: Links between gut microbiota, nutrition and brain health is rapidly translating from bench to human clinical
practice. Many reports have challenged the notion that newborn meconium is sterile. Brain health at birth is dependent on
maternal nutrition and health. Emerging evidence suggests gut health can affect the brain.
Objective: To determine if first meconium biodiversity is related to their maternal Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids
(LCPUFA) status and brain MRI volumes.
Material & Methods: Infants born to women enrolled in a LCPUFA supplementation randomized controlled trial in pregnancy
had their first meconium microbiota correlated to maternal lipid status and their brain MRI volumetrics. Stool analyses used
culture and semi quantitative genus-specific real time polymerase chain reaction.
Results: The infants’ first stool samples analyzed correlated statistically significant to maternal and cord blood LCPUFA status.
The infants’ stool microbiota was also found to correlate to their brain MRI volumetrics
Conclusions: This is the first study describing associations between maternal LCPUFA status, meconium microbiota and newborn
MRI-measured brain volumes which may be important for neurocognition and cortical synapsing.