New York-based Balchem Corporation’s Human Nutrition and Health division offered an analysis of a recently published study making headlines that found that choline may play a protective role by helping pregnant women mitigate negative effects of COVID-19 on their newborns.[1]
This study, conducted at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, is an analysis of a subset of data from previous research examining maternal infections: those who had respiratory infections, specifically. Researchers examined plasma choline levels during pregnancy and evaluated newborns using sensory and behavioral testing. A long body of research suggests that external insults to fetal brain development, including viruses, may lead to increased risk of mental disturbance in adulthood. Choline appears to protect the brain from such insults and this new analysis suggests that the findings extend to respiratory viruses such as COVID-19.
Previous studies from the University of Colorado have demonstrated that higher maternal choline levels during pregnancy play a neuroprotective role in fetal brain development. After tracking choline levels throughout pregnancy, researchers conducted follow-up testing to analyze a sensory response to auditory stimuli (in the case of infants, a clicking sound). In normal development, infant brains develop a natural ability to inhibit the response to subsequent auditory exposure. However, when normal development is disturbed, infant response to a second exposure is not sufficiently muted, limiting the brain’s ability to tune out repeated noises. A 2013 study by the group examined the effect of choline supplementation on inhibitory response and showed that children born to mothers who received supplemental choline during pregnancy exhibited a 76 percent improvement in inhibitory response than did the children born to mothers who did not receive supplemental choline. [2]
While an abnormal inhibitory response is not directly linked to any mental disorder, it does appear to be a strong indicator of the risk of future development of schizophrenia. In this case, the authors found that the overwhelming evidence of positive effects of choline supplementation were enough to recommend it as a safeguard against future mental illness, despite a lack of gold standard clinical results which will take decades of research to conduct.
A recent study in the Journal of Pediatrics by the same group examined a group of mothers who experienced a variety of viral infections during pregnancy. Viral infections spur a maternal immune response which is known to perturb fetal support mechanisms and interfere with brain development. This study showed a neuroprotective effect in children born to mothers who had higher gestation choline levels. Using the same sensory inhibition response methodology, the researchers showed a significantly improved inhibitory effect as well as improvement on a key behavioral index that measures risk of future mental health disturbance.[3]
For more information, visit https://www.balchem.com/ or http://vitacholine.com/.
References:
[1] Freedman, R et al. Maternal Choline and Respiratory Coronavirus Effects on Fetal Brain Development. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2020; 128: 1
[2] Ross R, et al. Perinatal Choline Effects on Neonatal Pathophysiology Related to Later Schizophrenia Risk. Am J Psychiatry. 2013 Mar 1; 170(3): 290–298.
[3] Freedman, R., et al., 2019. Higher gestational Choline Levels in Maternal Infection Protect Infant Brain Development. J. Pediatr. 208, 198–206.e2.
