A Paediatric Update on Brain Development and HMO’s
Dr Hauser and Dr Sprenger gave enlightening presentations on brain development and Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMO’s).
The resources below support the following statements from the presentations. Watch the video now
Early life is a key windows of opportunity to modulate brain development and nutrition is one of the external modulator of early brain development
Early life dietary intake of HMOs, specifically 2’-Fucosyllactose, 3’Sialyllactose and 6’Sialyllactose) have been shown to be associated with development of cognitive functions and have an impact on brain structural development
Multiple maternal factors can modulate breastmilk levels of specific HMOs, among which diet has been identified
Mechanisms of action hypothesized to mediate the HMOs effects on neurodevelopment are:
- Microbiota composition and metabolites
- Vagal tone
- Brain gene expression
HMOs added to infant formula are generally well tolerated and safe, show promising results to support immune competence development, largely through the gut microbiome
A 5-HMO blend was clinically shown to support:
- age-appropriate growth and to be well tolerated
- development of the intestinal immune system and gut barrier function
- age-appropriate gut microbiome maturation, including enhanced growth and activity of bifidobacteria with B. infantis and reduced abundance of toxigenic Clostridioides difficile.
