Clinical studies of lactoferrin in children1This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Lactoferrin and has undergone the Journal's usual peer review process

Autor: Alonso Pezo, Elsa Chea-Woo, Thomas G. Cleary, Karen Cruz, Theresa J. Ochoa
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Biochemistry and Cell Biology. 90:457-467
ISSN: 1208-6002
0829-8211
DOI: 10.1139/o11-087
Popis: Much has been learned in recent years about the mechanisms by which breastfeeding improves child health and survival. However, there has been little progress in using these insights to improve pediatric care. The aim of this study was to review all clinical studies of lactoferrin (LF) in children in an effort to determine which interventions may improve pediatric care or require further research. We conducted a systematic and critical review of published literature and found 19 clinical studies that have used human or bovine LF for different outcomes: iron metabolisms and anemia (6 studies), fecal flora (5 studies), enteric infections (3 studies), common pediatric illnesses (1 study), immunomodulation (3 studies), and neonatal sepsis (1 study). Although the efficacies have varied in each trial, the main finding of all published studies is the safety of the intervention. Protection against enteric infections and neonatal sepsis are the most likely biologically relevant activities of LF in children. Future studies on neonatal sepsis should answer critically important questions. If the data from these sepsis studies are proven to be correct, it will profoundly affect the treatment of low birth weight neonates and will aid in the reduction of child mortality worldwide.
Databáze: OpenAIRE