Ruth Lawrence states "BF usually enhances the health of an infant with CF
because it helps to protect against infection and provide active enzymes."
(p. 507)  Perhaps breast milk does even more?
Cynthia D. Payne
LLL of Berkshire County Massachusetts

<<High Doses of Martek's Neuromins DHA Reversed Lung and Pancreas
Symptoms In Genetically Altered Cystic Fibrosis Mice

    Martek Biosciences Corporation (NASDAQ: MATK) today announced that  two
medical scientists representing a research team affiliated with Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical
School, presented the results of years of  experiments that tested their novel
theory surrounding the cause of  Cystic Fibrosis (CF).  Drs. Juan Alvarez and
Steven Freedman made  their announcement last week in a presentation titled
"Administration of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Reverses the Pathological
Manifestations of Cystic Fibrosis in CFTR (-/-) Mice" at the Twelfth Annual
North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  The
abstract, numbered 274, was published in Pediatric Pulmonolgy, Supplement 17,
October 1998.  Drs. Alvarez and Freedman proposed that an imbalance between
arachidonic acid (AA) and DHA in the cell linings of the pancreas, lungs, and
gastrointestinal tract in CF patients explains the disease's common symptoms.
The two medical scientists tested their theory on mice genetically altered to
mimic symptoms of the disease, a standard CF animal model.   Independent of
Martek, the researchers found Neuromins DHA at a local health food store and
tried it with the CF mice because it was the purest source of DHA oil
commercially available.  Upon using  Neuromins DHA, the CF symptoms in the
affected mice were reversed, and the CF mice approached the normalcy of the
wild mice, which served as the control group.

    "Martek is very excited about these results because to our knowledge no
drug or therapy has ever reversed CF symptoms in this  mouse model.  However,
we don't want to give anyone any false hopes since research now needs to be
conducted directly in CF patients.   There can be no assurance as yet that
Martek's Neuromins DHA will have the same effect that it did in mice," said
Henry Linsert, Jr.,  Chairman and CEO of Martek Biosciences Corporation.

    CF is an inherited disease, the common outward symptoms of which are
chronic coughing, difficulty breathing, and pneumonia caused by abnormal mucus
in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.   Additionally, lung
obstruction and infection, poor digestion and poor food absorption are
characteristics of the disease.  This condition can be fatal in childhood but
children with milder forms may live to  adulthood with the average age of
survival being about 30 years.  In the U.S. there are 25,000-30,000 CF
patients, 1 in 30 people are CF carriers, and 1 in 2,000-3,000 newborns are
born with CF.  The annual treatment cost per patient is $40,000-$50,000.>>

    DHA is an important building block of the brain and visual  tissues.  DHA
is found in the diet and is a component of human breast milk, and many
researchers believe DHA is important for mental and  visual development.
Martek's DHA oil was originally developed as an  infant formula ingredient and
today is in infant formulas in over 30  countries.  Martek began selling its
DHA oil in the form of  Neuromins(TM) DHA capsules as a nutritional supplement
for the brain  and eyes in 1997. >>