Has anyone heard of this research? I came across an old copy of the American Institute for Cancer Research newsletter (Winter 1993) that says: "Can a simple food made from soybeans, eaten at a critical stage of brain development, provide lifelong protection against breast cancer? Coral A. Lamartiniere, Ph.D., a professor in the Dept of Environmental Health Sciences at the U. of Alabama at Birmingham, believes it may be possible. Dr. LaMartiniere studies imprinting, the process by which a fetus or newborn develops nerve endings in the brain that regulate brain functions such as hormone release. The imprinting that takes place before and shortly after birth may not show its effects for decades. In an AICR-sponsored research project Dr. L. hopes to find out whether exposing newborn rats to genistein, a natural substance found in soybeans, during an important stage of their nerve development can prevent breast cancer later in life." Genistein apparently has estrogen like acticity and Dr. L. found in previous studies that rats exposed to estrogen one week after birth: 1. developed imprinting changes that appeared to protect them against breast cancer in adulthood; 2. developed protective changes in breast tissue and 3. were less likely to develop breast cancer in adulthood than rats not treated shortly after birth with estrogen. Estrogen itself isn't a good choice for human cancer prevention since it could have unwanted side effects, but if genistein produces the same results this soybean derivative may be a safe alternative. Dr. Lamartiniere hopes that his work will eventually enable human infants to eat soy based foods that may greatly reduce their risk of breast cancer. "Potentiallly there may be a twofold route for the human infant, both through the mother's milk and through a soy protein or baby food." Does anyone know if further research has been done??? Pearl Shifer, IBCLC mailto:[log in to unmask] ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]