Essential fatty acids (EFA) are PUFA that are metabolised to long-chain PUFA and are important for brain development and cognitive function. The objective of this study was to determine the association between whole-blood EFA and cognitive function in Tanzanian children. A total of 325 2–6-year-old children attempted the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) tasks to assess executive function. Blood samples were collected for fatty acid (FA) analysis by GC. Associations between executive function and FA levels were assessed by regression. Among the 130 4–6-year-old children who attempted the DCCS tasks, whole-blood levels of linoleic acid were positively associated with executive function, whereas whole-blood levels of α-linolenic acid and nervonic acid were inversely associated with executive function. A full model including all twenty-five FA explained 38 % of the variation in executive function, whereas a reduced model including only the EFA (α-linolenic acid and linoleic acid), DHA and EPA explained 25 % of the variation in executive function. Children who had sufficient whole-blood levels of EFA were 3·8 times more likely to successfully complete all DCCS tasks compared with children with insufficient EFA. These results suggest that whole-blood FA levels are associated with cognitive abilities. Intervention trials that include assessment of whole-blood FA levels are required to determine the relationships between intake, blood levels and executive function in Tanzanian children.

Purpose: Although intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in children has been reported it is not widely used due to concerns over safety. Detailed analyses of measurements outlined by the ACC consensus statement on IVUS have not been reported in children. We report our safety and analysis data to date. Procedures: IVUS of the left anterior descending was performed with mechanised pullback concurrently with surveillance coronary angiography. Procedure and fluoroscopy screening times were compared with a second group of patients who experienced coronary angiography alone. Analysis was performed to measure vessel and lumen area, vessel and lumen diameters and intimal thickness for serial slices at fixed intervals from a distal identification point. Mean atheroma burden, mean maximum intimal thickness (MIT) and overall maximal intimal thickness were determined for each study. Results: Twenty-seven procedures were analysed. Table 1 shows patient demographics and information relating to IVUS analysis. Details of procedure and fluoroscopy time for both IVUS and coronary angiography groups are presented in Table 2. No complications were encountered. Routine coronary angiography was normal in all but one patient. Conclusions: We have demonstrated the safety of IVUS for coronary surveillance in children. When compared to coronary angiography alone procedure time and screening time are increased but we feel this is outweighed by the increased sensitivity of IVUS. Fifty-two percent of children have an IMT > 0.5 mm despite normal angiography. Such detailed analysis would appear central to future research into paediatric coronary disease.

We describe a 9-year-old girl who was noted to have eosinophilic myocarditis in her native heart after it was explanted during cardiac transplantation. On the basis of absence of evidence for primary or secondary eosinophilia, we suggest that the prolonged use of dobutamine prior to transplantation might have induced the eosinophilic myocarditis.