NEUROTOXICOLOGY AND AMINO-ACID INTAKE DURING DEVELOPMENT - THE CASE OF THREONINE

The development of the central nervous system is highly dependent on a n adequate supply of nutrients. In particular, protein and amino acid availability is of major concern during gestation and in early postnat al life. Numerous data have been published on some amino acids directl y involved in brain functions as neurotransmitters or indirectly as pr ecursors of neurotransmitters, but scant information is available on t he possible consequences of hyperthreoninemia, a phenomenon repeatedly noted in clinical reports. The results of neurochemical and behaviora l studies in the developing rat suggest that despite numerous possible effects of threonine on brain constituents, moderate hyperthreoninemi a does not impair markedly the development of the central nervous syst em. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Inc.