Here's the link to the abstract of the study that hit the news today:

http://fn.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/89/6/F518

Archives of Disease in Childhood Fetal and Neonatal Edition
2004;89:F518-F520

Effect of storage on breast milk antioxidant activity

Background: Human milk, which contains compounds beneficial to infants, is
often expressed and stored before use. Changes in its antioxidant activity
with storage have not been studied.

Objectives: To measure antioxidant activity of fresh, refrigerated (4°C),
and frozen human milk (-20°C), stored for two to seven days; to compare the
antioxidant activity of milk from mothers delivering prematurely and at
term; to compare the antioxidant activity of infant formulas and human milk.

Methods: Sixteen breast milk samples (term and preterm) were collected from
mothers within 24 hours of delivery and divided into aliquots. Fresh samples
were immediately tested for antioxidant activity, and the rest of the
aliquots were stored at -20°C or 4°C to be analyzed at 48 hours and seven
days respectively. The assay used measures the ability of milk samples to
inhibit the oxidation of 2,2'-azino-di-3-(ethylbenzthiazolinesulphonate) to
its radical cation compared with Trolox.

Results: Antioxidant activity at both refrigeration and freezing
temperatures was significantly decreased. Freezing resulted in a greater
decrease than refrigeration, and storage for seven days resulted in lower
antioxidant activity than storage for 48 hours. There was no difference in
milk from mothers who delivered prematurely or at term. Significantly lower
antioxidant activity was noted in formula milk than in fresh human milk.

Conclusions: To preserve the antioxidant activity of human milk, storage
time should be limited to 48 hours. Refrigeration is better than freezing
and thawing.




My question/comment:
Its interesting to see which studies "hit the news" and which don't.  There
is 3 breast milk studies in this issue of this journal, alone.  I assume
that there are many, many other studies about breastfeeding/breastmilk that
are never reported in the news.  I speculate that it is the researchers that
have a good Public Relations team behind them, that makes the effort to
write and send out the press releases, that gets a study covered.???
(Jodine, any comment?)

Off-topic, in this same issue, there is another study that looks at
breastmilk:
http://fn.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/89/6/F509
Does human milk reduce infection rates in preterm infants? A systematic
review

One of the reasons for advocating human milk (HM) feeding for preterm
infants is the belief that this provides the infant with a degree of
protection from infection. Providing fresh HM for such infants is
challenging for mothers and staff, and consequently it is important that its
benefits are rigorously evaluated. Therefore a systematic review was
undertaken to assess all publications concerned with human milk feeding and
infection in very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants. Nine studies-six
cohort and three randomised controlled trials (RCT)-were assessed using
predefined criteria. Methodological problems included poor study design,
inadequate sample size, failure to adjust for confounding variables, and
inadequate definitions of HM feeding and outcome measures. In conclusion,
the advantage of HM in preventing infection in preterm, (VLBW) infants is
not proven by the existing studies. Recommendations are made regarding the
methodology required for further study of this important topic.



Me again.  I wonder when this study will hit the news????  (I can see the
headlines now "Breastmilk doesn't prevent infection")

Of course, this whole study needs "wiessingerizing"  (Isn't anything *other*
than breastmilk the intervention?), or am I reading this wrong?

Janice Reynolds
(becoming ever the more disillusioned about "evidence-based medicine" if
these are the studies the evidence is based on).

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html