Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Sera of Breastfed Epileptic Infants and in Breastmilk of Their Mothers

Abstract

Serum and milk BDNF levels are higher in epileptic infants than in controls and may be used as a marker of disease severity.

A cross-sectional study of fatty acids and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in human milk from lactating women following vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore diets

“…Using an assay validated for human milk, we found that BDNF was not detectable in any of our samples, which is inconsistent with the findings of others who used the same commercial ELISA [23,25]. Li et al measured BDNF in the breast milk of 42 healthy Chinese women at 3, 10, and 30 days postpartum and reported average BDNF levels of 10-13 pg/mL, which is below the standard curve range of 15.6-1000 pg/mL [23].…”

“…Total BDNF was measured in duplicate using a Quantikine Total BDNF ELISA kit (part number DBNT00, R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN) which has a standard curve range of 15.6-1000 pg/mL. This method was selected because it was used in two of the three published studies on BDNF in human milk, and was the only published methods available at the time that had been validated by the manufacturer for use with human milk [23,25]. Samples were prepared according to the manufacturer's instructions to centrifuge for 15 min at 1000 RPM, remove the aqueous fraction, and repeat two more times.…”

“…Samples were prepared according to the manufacturer's instructions to centrifuge for 15 min at 1000 RPM, remove the aqueous fraction, and repeat two more times. Alternative sample preparation methods were also used based on those reported by others including centrifuging at increased speeds of 10,000 RPM and acidification to potentially improve BDNF binding capacity [23,25,44]. The average CV for duplicate samples read on a BioTek Synergy Plate Reader (BioTek Instruments, Winooski, VT) at 450 nm was 1.8% and the average R 2 value for the standard curves was 0.999.…”

“…Nassar et al reported higher levels of serum BDNF in breastfed infants, compared to formula fed infants, though breast milk was not measured as a potential source of the BDNF [22]. Limited studies have assessed BDNF in human milk, with a 100-fold difference in concentrations reported between studies [23,24,25]. No studies have investigated a potential relationship between BDNF concentrations in human milk and maternal diet.…”

Is Exclusive Breastfeeding a Protective Factor Against Idiopathic Epilepsy?

“…Moreover, breast milk contains brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and lactoferrin. BDNF is a vital trophic protein for development and maintenance of the nervous system and essential to molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity (11,12) . In experimental models it has been shown that lactoferrin reduced hypoxia-ischemia induced modifications of the cortical metabolism and altered white matter microstructure as revealed in lactoferrin-supplemented rats.…”