It was confirmed that the main source of energy for growth and development in the neonatal period was fat. Considerable attention was paid to the development of both white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) in the rat and human newborn. Cholesterol metabolism during development was studied in the liver, the small intestine and both WAT and BAT. Brown adipose tissue of rats and adipose tissue from human newborns require carnitine for optimum respiration and fatty acid oxidation. Surprisingly, carnitine enhanced lipolysis in human newborn adipose tissue, intravenously-fed newborn patients exhibited a rapid decrease of plasma level of carnitine and its esters, indicating a greater requirement for exogenous carnitine than in adult subjects (52 references).

Department of Pediatrics University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson USA

Postnatal induction of muscle fatty acid oxidation in mice differing in propensity to obesity: a role of pyruvate dehydrogenase