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Subject:
From:
Judy Ritchie <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 2 Dec 2000 11:31:03 -0800
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More questions than answers in this article.  They
never mention breastmilk as the first substance of
intake to go down and line the gut wall.
Judy Ritchie



Type of Intestinal Bacteria May Affect Humoral Immunity
in Infants


WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Nov 27 - The maturation of
humoral immunity in infants may depend on what types of
bacteria colonize in their intestines as well as on the
timing of this colonization, according to study findings
that appear in the Archives of Diseases in Childhood,
Fetal and Neonatal Edition.

The results may help explain why the rates of allergic
diseases have been rising at similar rates as sterile
cesarean section deliveries, the researchers suggest.

Dr. Minna-Maija Gronlund, of the Turku University Central
Hospital in Finland, and colleagues based their findings
on 64 healthy full-term infants.

At ages 3 to 5 days and at 1, 2 and 6 months, the
researchers measured fecal colonization with
Bifidobacterium-like and Lactobacillus-like bacteria as
well as colonization with the Bacteroides fragilis group.
Blood samples were also collected at birth and at ages
2 and 6 months for analysis of immunoglobulin-secreting
cells.

In addition, to examine the relationship between diet and
immunity, the newborns' mothers kept diaries of what the
infants consumed during their first 2 months.

Intestinal colonization with B. fragilis was a greater
predictor of elevated levels of IgA-secreting and
IgM-secreting cells than was intestinal colonization with
other bacteria or diet, Dr. Gronlund and colleagues report.
The highest number of IgA-secreting cells at 2 months and
IgM-secreting cells at 6 months occurred in infants who had
B. fragilis colonization at 1 to 2 months.

"To our knowledge, this is the first report of an
association between Bacteroides sp and maturation of
humoral immunity in humans, and it provides a fresh view
of the role of these predominant bacteria of the human gut,"
the authors write.

"Our observations add an interesting facet to the discussion
on the possible protective role of microbial contacts in the
prevention of allergic diseases," the authors write.

They note that infants born via cesarean delivery were more
likely to experience a delay in intestinal colonization with
B. fragilis. According to Dr. Gronlund's team, "It may
therefore be no coincidence that the incidence of allergic
diseases is increasing in parallel with the rate of sterile
cesarean sections."

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2000;83:F186-F192.

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