AI Summary
a very insightful study into how breast milk antibodies can provide protection against rotavirus in infants. Researchers found that higher levels of specific antibodies in breast milk helped infants fend off the infection for a longer period. The study also revealed differences in antibody profiles between mothers in high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries. This research can potentially lead to improved infant health through optimized breastfeeding practices and further exploration of antibody responses to various pathogens.
A study led by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that breast milk provides protection against rotavirus, a common gastrointestinal disease that causes diarrhea, vomiting and fever in infants. Babies whose mothers had high levels of specific antibodies in their breast milk were able to fend off the infection for a longer period than infants whose mothers had lower levels. The findings are expected to drive future research to improve infant health through optimized breastfeeding practices.
Published in theĀ Journal of Clinical InvestigationĀ and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the study also found significant differences in antibody profiles in breast milk between mothers in high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Researchers analyzed human milk samples from 695 women in Finland, the U.S., Pakistan, Peru, and Bangladesh, and measured specific IgA and IgG antibodies, which are common antibodies produced in breast milk, against 1,607 proteins from 30 pathogens.
The research,Ā led by Dr. Kirsi Jarvinen-Seppo, MD, PhD, professor in the Division of Allergy and Immunology atĀ UR Medicine Golisano Children’s Hospital (GCH), tracked antibody levels and kinetics over time to analyze antibody responses to a wide range of respiratory, diarrheal and sepsis pathogens in human milk. The study’s primary aim was to understand the protective properties of these antibodies and how they vary across different geographic and economic regions.
We would expect to find differences in antibody levels in different countries, due to different diseases circulating among areas of the world, but this is