Freeze-Dried Formula May Block HIV Virus in Breast Milk (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- In developing countrieswhere breast-feeding is a necessity, and HIV is rampant, the risk ofdisease transmission through breast milk might be reduced if infants werefirst fed a freeze-dried formula full of good bacteria that could captureand potentially destroy the deadly virus.

But that hope is theoretical, because the formula hasn't been tested inhumans. However, researchers from the University of Chicago report thatthey are one giant step closer to that reality, because they have designeda method that allows the good bacteria to remain active, even withoutrefrigeration.

"The one major challenge for infant products going to Africa or otherpoor regions is that they don't have refrigeration, so anything you sendhas to be heat-resistant," explained one of the researchers, Lin Tao, anassociate professor in the department of oral biology at the University ofIllinois at Chicago.

Tao presented the findings Thursday at the International Associationfor Dental Research annual meeting, in Toronto.

Lactobacillus is a bacterium normally found in the mouth. It's one ofthe good bacteria found in some dairy products, such as yogurt or kefir.Surprisingly, this common bacteria has the ability to "capture" the HIVvirus.

"HIV, though quite deadly as a disease, as a virus is relatively weak,so it's not surprising to find out that lactobacillus can act against HIVand maybe prevent its incorporation into mammalian cells," said Dr. MarcSiegel, an associate professor at the New York University School ofMedicine and the author of False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic ofFear.

Tao and his colleague, Dr. R. Chang from Lavax, of Palatine, Ill.,developed the new freeze-drying method for maintaining lactobacilli in ahot environment, and in the current study, they tested the new method atdifferent temperatures to ensure that the lactobacilli remainedviable.

Now that they've shown a method for keeping the bacteria alive in heat,the researchers have to decide the most effective product to use. Infantformula is an obvious candidate, or possibly a type of lollipop that aninfant could suck on, Tao said.

Once the lactobacilli are ingested, the bacteria will colonize theinfants' GI tract, and as long as they are fed milk, the bacteria willremain alive and able to capture HIV, said Tao.

"This study provides hope for the prevention of HIV. So far, all of theAIDS vaccines have failed in clinical trials, but this shows that thereare alternatives. There are ways to conquer this virus," said Tao, whosaid the next step is to secure additional funding for furtherresearch.

"The notion of using probiotics to protect infants against HIV-positivebreast milk is a novel, promising and interesting notion that bearsfurther study," said Siegel.

More information

To learn more about HIV infection in babies and children, visit the .