Breastmilk Is The Best - New Study

Is breast milk so different from infant formula? The ability to track which genes are operating in an infant’s intestine has allowed  scientists to compare the early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies. They say the difference is very real.

For the first time, researchers can see that breast milk induces genetic pathways that are quite different from those in formula-fed infants. Although formula makers have tried to develop a product that’s as much like breast milk as possible, hundreds of genes were expressed differently in the breast-fed and formula-fed groups.

Although both breast-fed and formula-fed babies gain weight and seem to develop similarly, scientists have known for a long time that breast milk contains immune-protective components that make a breast-fed infant’s risk lower for all kinds of illnesses.
The intestinal tract of the newborn undergoes marked changes in response to feeding. And the response to human milk exceeds that of formula, suggesting that the bioactive components in breast milk are important in this response.
What is not known is how breast milk protects the infant and particularly how it regulates the development of the intestine. Understanding those differences should help formula makers develop a product that is more like the real thing, she said. The scientists hope to develop a signature gene or group of genes to use as a biomarker for breast-fed infants.

Many of the differences found b were in fundamental genes that regulate the development of the intestine and provide immune defense for the infant.
In the study, a new technique was used to examine intestinal gene expression in 22 healthy infants — 12 breast-fed, 10 formula-fed.

The technique involved isolating intestinal cells shed in the infants’ stools, then comparing the expression of different genes between the two groups. Mothers in the study collected fecal samples from their babies at one, two, and three months of age. Scientists were then able to isolate high-quality genetic material, focusing on the RNA to get a gene expression or signature.

Understanding early intestinal development is important for many reasons. An infant’s gut has to adapt very quickly. A new baby is coming out of a sterile environment, having received all its nutrients intravenously through the placenta. At that point, babies obviously must begin eating, either mother’s milk or formula.
Of potential clinical importance is that the gene expressed most often in breast-fed infants is involved in the cell’s response to oxygen deprivation. Lack of oxygen is a factor in the development of a kind of gangrene of the intestine that can be fatal in premature babies.