The University of Granada will host tomorrow Wednesday, 23rd April, the International Symposium on Early Nutrition Programming, a meeting which will have the participation of about 300 researchers from all over the world as a part of the EARNEST European Project, including 38 companies and universities from 16 European countries. The EARNEST Project (The Early Nutrition Programming Project) intends to contribute to the formulation of action policies, information campaigns and preparation of documents, guides and recommendations related to children’s food composition for the improvement of infant formula and create interventions to prevent and revert nutrition effects in metabolism.
One of the most outstanding studies and communications that will be presented in the framework of this important scientific meeting is the one coordinated by Yolanda Sanz, researcher of the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (CSIC) of Valencia, who has found that when babies and their mothers, with a family history of allergic conditions, were given probiotic bacteria, fewer of them went on to develop eczema or atopic dermatitis (a chronic skin disease characterized by a flaky inflammation of the skin). Similar results were found when prebiotics were added to infant formula.
A widespread problem
Eczema is a distressing condition for both parents and babies -the raw, red skin is painful to see and it is difficult to stop small children from scratching it. At worst, it can mean having to wet wrap wriggly toddlers each day with bandages soaked in moisturisers. It usually starts in the first year of life and affects about 1 of every 10 infants. Although most children eventually grow out of it, about half will go on to develop another allergic condition, such as asthma or hayfever.
Recent progress in understanding the role of gut bacteria in the development of the infant’s immune system has led to the hope that some of this suffering can be prevented in the future.
«New and exciting insights on how gut bacteria affect immune function are emerging from these studies which we hope will support the use of pro- and prebiotics in primary disease prevention in the future», said Dr Yolanda Sanz, who will take part tomorrow in the EARNEST Symposium of Granada.
After birth
Babies’ guts are colonized by bacteria after birth and acquiring the right balance of the different bacterial strains is important for developing effective gut immunity. Gut immunity is the first line of defence and prevents the absorption and over-reaction to any trigger molecule causing allergy. Breast milk contains antibodies and natural prebiotics which promote the establishment of a healthy balance of gut bacteria and exclusively breast fed babies are less likely to develop eczema.
The studies presented at the International Symposium offer hope that, with the use of the right bacterial strains and appropriate prebiotic mixtures, babies’ natural defences can be boosted and their risk of eczema reduced.
«This is exciting new scientific information that suggests a fairly straightforward way to help ease the burden of this condition on infants and their families», said Professor Philip Calder (University of Southampton, UK) Chair of the Immune Function session and one of the partners in the EC-funded Nutrimenthe project, which intends to assess the effects of diet in 120,000 children of the participating countries aged between 6 and 12.
The opening meeting of the EARNEST Conference (which will have the participation of the researchers of the Nutrimenthe project) will be chaired by the General Secretary of Universities, Research and Technology, José Domínguez Abascal; the Rector of the University of Granada, Francisco González Lodeiro; the Vice-Rector of Scientific Policy and Research, María Dolores Suárez Ortega; and the Delegate of Health in Granada, Celia Gómez. The inauguration will have the presence of Isabelle de Froidmont-Goertz, officer of Biotechnology, Agriculture and Food of the European Commission, and Berthold Koletzko, Chair of the Early Nutrition Academy (ENA).
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Day: Wednesday, 23rd April
Hour: 9 a.m.
Place: Aula Magna of the School of Medicine
Programme of the EARNEST symposium
Reference: Dr. Cristina Campoy Folgoso. Department of Paedistrics of the University of Granada.
Phone number: 958 023419 – Mobile: 629308695
E-mail: ccampoy@ugr.es
Web: http://www.enasymposium2008.org
