Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 load in breast milk and mastitis were examined as risk factors for vertical transmission of HIV-1. Six weeks after delivery, HIV-1 load and sodium (an indicator of mastitis) were measured in breast milk from 334 HIV-1-infected women in Malawi. Median breast milk HIV-1 load was 700 copies/mL among women with HIV-1-infected infants versus undetectable (<2...

Human milk is the optimal food for human infants, including infants born prematurely. In the event that a mother of a hospitalized infant cannot provide breast milk, donor milk is considered an acceptable alternative. It is known that the macronutrient composition of donor milk is different than human milk, with variable fat content and protein content. However, much less is known about the mic...

A review of recent studies of antibacterial, antiviral and antiprotozoan factors in human breast milk is presented. Also reviewed are the microbial contaminants that have been detected in human milk with a particular focus on cytomegalovirus and rubella virus, both of which have recently been shown to infect infants via breast milk.

The beneficial effects of human milk extend to the feeding of premature infants, because their nutrition support must be designed to compensate for metabolic and gastrointestinal immaturity, immunologic compromise, and maternal psychosocial conditions. Significant effects on the recipient host, such as reduction in sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis, have been reported for premature infants f...

17 Presence of pyrethroid insecticides in human breast milk and in thatch wall material of dwellings 18 from Southern Africa subtropical area (Manhiça, Mozambique) was investigated to assess potential 19 pyrethroid route of human exposure. Human breast milk samples were collected during 2002 when 20 pyrethroids were widely used as insecticides for mosquito bed nets in Mozambique for malaria 21 ...

Exosomes are biomolecular nanostructures released from cells. They carry specific biomolecular information and are mainly researched for their exquisite properties as a biomarker source and delivery system. We introduce exosomes in the context of other extracellular vesicles, describe their biophysical isolation and characterisation and discuss their biochemical profiling. Motivated by our inte...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread through direct contact with blood, although alternative routes of transmission may contribute to the global burden. Perinatal infection occurs in up to 5% of HCV-infected mothers, and presence of HCV RNA in breast milk has been reported. We investigated the influence of breast milk on HCV infectiousness. METHODS/RESULTS Human breast milk reduced HC...

Concentrations of the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4n-6) in human breast milk are important indicators of infant formula DHA and AA concentrations, and recent evidence suggests that neural maturation of breastfed infants is linked to breast-milk LCPUFA concentrations. We report a descriptive meta-analysis that ...

The problem of sodium balance in low birth weight infants In this issue of Jornal de Pediatria, Tanaka et al. publish results of their detailed study to assess the influence of fortification of banked human breast milk feeding on urinary fractional excretion of sodium, specific gravity and osmolality.1 To our knowledge, no study in very low birth weight infants to date has examined strict sodiu...

Correspondence to: Dr J H Baumer, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK; harry. [email protected] _________________________ H uman milk banks provide an alternative to formula feeds for preterm babies when the mother’s breast milk is unavailable. The first human milk bank in the United Kingdom opened at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, London in 1939. The emergence of the human immunodeficiency vi...