Hope for preterm infants at risk

When scientists discovered breastmilk plus a probiotic might ward off the inflammation responsible for necrotizing enterocolitis – a devastating disease that affects 10% of preterm infants – they quickly launched a follow-on study to learn more.

These scientists have found that the combination not only has anti-inflammatory effects, but also anti-viral effects and the potential to regulate healthy growth and development of immature intestinal cells. This further reinforces the possibility that breastmilk plus a probiotic could prevent and potentially treat necrotizing enterocolitis.

Their findings have just been published by Scientific Reports in this open access article, ‘The impact of indole-3-lactic acid on immature intestinal innate immunity and development: a transcriptomic analysis’.

FLRF is a grateful partial sponsor of this work by:

• Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School
• Institute of Agro-Product Processing, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences
• Hallym University College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital

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