HUMAN BREAST MILK CONTAINS STEM CELLS A BREAK THROUGH RESEARCH AT PATKI HOSPITAL, KOLHAPUR
A senior Gynecologist & Infertility specialist Dr. Satish Patki from Kolhapur & senior Scientist, from National center for cell science Pune, Dr.Ramesh Bhonde have done a break through research in which they have demonstrated the presence of stem cells in the human milk.
Intrestingly,they have also documented for the first time in literature the potential of these stem cells, isolated from human milk to differentiate into various other type of cells like insulin producing cells of pancreas, adipocytes, bone cells etc.
This revolutionary research was done at Patki Hospital & Postgraduate Institute of Gynecology, Kolhapur. The research paper has been accepted for publication in an International reputed peer review journal of “Human Cell” in their 23th volume of 2010. Dr. Patki & Dr.Bhonde have already applied for the patent of this new technology& its applications.
Stem cells are very basic cells of the body which normally remain quiscent & work as a “back up” repairatory & regenerative machinery of the body. They are mobilised only during the time when the body requires them for repair of any diseased or damaged organ.
Bone marrow, fat tissue are the conventional sources of stem cells. Dr. Satish Patki & Dr.Ramesh Bhonde earlier in their research had already documented the presence of stem cells in the uterus & fallopian tube, in their International publications in 2008.
Breast feeding is now universally accepted to give innumerable advantages to human being. It has been already documented in various world literatures & World health organization (W.H.O.) studies that breast feeding is a boon to human development.The babies who are breast fed have lower incidence of gastroinstestinal, respiratory & ear infections. The children who are breast fed have higher intelligence Quotient (I.Q.) & have better school performance than those who are non breast fed. A meta analysis study of W.H.O. & various other Research papers have also shown some interesting findings. The individuals who had sufficient breast feeding in their neonatal period are proved to have lower incidence of diseases like Diabetes, Osteoporosis, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, Chron’s disease & various cancers, than those who didn’t have breast feeding.
Nutritionally, the cow’s milk, human milk, & formula milk preparations have similar compositions of their carbohydrates, proteins, fats, & vitamin contents. The question remains – “What is that key content” which makes breast milk ‘a power’ of the human?
Breast milk produced especially during first five days after child birth ( technically called as colostrum) contains lot of cells, which none of formula milk has. Hence, in their research, Dr.Patki & Dr.Bhonde, made an attempt to analyse in details, various types of cells in the breast milk. Intrestingly, their study revealed the presence of stem cells which were cultured in a highly specialized laboratory at Patki Hospital, Kolhapur.
Dr.Satish Patki, & Dr.Ujjwala Patki, experts in the field of Infertility, who have to their credit many ‘first’ achievements of Kolhapur & Southern Maharashtra, like birth of Test Tube Baby, Micromanupulation & freezing techniques, surrogate mother technology, already have a ‘state of art’, research laboratory for cell culture.
The stem cells isolated from human milk were characterized by Confocal Microscopy & various tissue Markers.
The cells were also differentiated by giving various biochemical triggers into insulin producing islets cells of pancreas, bone cells & fat cells.
Earlier, Dr.Mark Cregan, Australia has demonstrated the presence of putative stem like cells in human milk in 2008. However, in his study the research team didn’t document the pleuropotent differentiation potential of the cells.
Dr.Patki & Dr.Bhonde feel that breast feeding is an example of “Allogenic Stem Cell Thearpy”, where the child receives mesenchymal stem cells from mother as natural gift. Intrestingly, the nature has made intestinal tract of new borns in a specialized manner, so that these stem cells are not destroyed by the juices of intestine & they get absorbed into systemic circulation & remain locally active as well.
Dr.Patki & Dr.Bhonde hypothesise that these stem cells either differentiate into other types of cells or secrete some factors, which stimulate the baby’s systems to develop in a better fashion.
The stem cell number in human milk varies from time to time. The colostrum contains about 50,000 cells per ml, while mature milk contains hardly 50-100 cells per ml. Thus in the first five days baby gets about 5 million stem cells per kg body weight per day.
This stem cell therapy could be the deciding factor in the overall development of the individual, offering various advantages in later life.
The ministry of women & child development, Govt. of India has published guidelines for breast feeding, in which they are focusing more on early initiation of breast feeding with stress on significance of colostrum feeding & advising exclusive breast feeding for first 6 months. The research of Dr. Patki & Dr. Bhonde will also strengthen these recommendations, in more scientific manner, highlighting the concept of natural stem cell therapy.
Dr. Patki & Dr. Bhonde feel that these mesenchymal stem cells isolated from human milk can make miracles in the treatment of certain neonatal diseases like neonatal sepsis, respiratory diseases & others, which form important causes of infant mortality, all over the world. During such severe diseases, babies are not given oral feeds or overall intake of such sick babies is also less. In such situations, the stem cells preparations can be given orally, which can definitely help in rapid recovery. Patki Research Foundation has already formed stem cells research & therapy committees as per Indian Council of Medical Research (I.C.M.R.) guidelines & has prepared research protocols which are to be submitted to apex committee of ICMR.
“The product of breast milk derived, stem cell can be manufactured is short future, which can revolutionize the management in neonatal diseases”, say Dr.Bhonde & Dr.Patki.
The growth factor of the stem cells can be also used in the treatment protocols of Test Tube Baby (Assisted Reproductive Technology) which can also improve the success rates of the procedures & such attempts are also made at Patki Hospital Kolhapur.
Dr.A.P.J.Kalam, the honorable past president, during his recent visit to Kolhapur has also appreciated this research & has encouraged Dr.Patki & Dr.Bhonde for future pursual.
“Breast feeding” – Present Situation
State Government, unicef & many other National & International organizations are trying to convince the significance of breast feeding to common man. However, following table will show the real situation & very poor breast feeding practices.
|
Maharashtra 1998 |
Maharashtra 2005 |
Kolhapur 2005 |
India 2005 |
| Breast feeding from first day |
23% |
52% |
51.5%
|
23%
|
| Breast feeding for first six months |
7%(0 - 5 months) |
53%(0 - 5 months)
|
0.5%(0 - 5 months)
|
46%(0 - 5 months)
|
If breast feeding is made popular by the new concept of “ Breast feeding is a stem cell therapy” then the above statistics will improve & lead to:-
1) 22% reduction in mortality of babies under one month age.
2) 4 times reduction in mortality of babies under one year.
3) 13% reduction in mortality of children under 5 years.
If the Government & other organizations make use of this research for public awareness, the picture will definetly change.
Breast Milk Stem Cell Bank
Stem Cells cultured from breast milk can be used for treatment of various neonatal diseases.This can reduce the Infertility & Moratality Rate (I.M.R) of our country & will also help to have a healthy future generations.