Fatty acid accretion in the development of human spinal cord

Lumbar and cervical segments of fetal and infant spinal cord were examined to determine the deposition rate of individual fatty acids in the spinal cord during the last trimester of fetal development and first 16 weeks of life. Fatty acid accretion rates were determined by regression analysis of spinal cord fatty acids at varying developmental ages. During the last trimester of fetal growth, accretion of major tissue fatty acids occurred earlier in cervical segments of spinal cord and at a greater rate than observed in lumbar regions. Postnatal accretion of fatty acids in cervical regions of spinal cord was minimal on a per gram of tissue basis with the exception of moderate increases in total omega-9 and saturated fatty acids, reflecting myelination. Significant postnatal accretion of fatty acids in lumbar regions of the spinal cord occurred some 4 weeks postnatally at rates significantly in excess of in utero rates. These developmental changes in fatty acid accretion are quantitatively relevant to estimates of fatty acid incorporation into spinal cord and parallel known processes of myelination and increasing neuro-motor activity in the developing infant.