ESSENTIAL FATTY ACID STATUS IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC LIVER DISEASES

Abstract

Essential fatty acids ( EFAs) , linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic) are essential components of structural lipids in all tissues and they modulate cell membrane fluidity and function. The availability of essential fatty acids is important for early human growth and for development of membrane-rich tissues such as the brain and retina (Decsi and Ko/etzko, 1994). Essential fatty acids serve also important biologic roles as mediators of immune and vascular functions, as well as platelets aggregation (Smith eta/., 1991).

The liver plays a central role in the metabolism of essential fatty acids, and there is a relationship between essential fatty acid status and indicators of liver function. Children with cholestatic disease are at a high risk for essential fatty acid deficiency and have poor polyunsaturated fatty acid status because bile acids contribute to efficient fatty acid absorption from the gut, and long chain fatty acids are synthesized from their short chain precursors, mainly in the liver. Also, hepatic conversion of essential fatty acids into their long chain metabolites is increasingly impaired with advancing severity of liver disease (Socha eta/., 1997).