The Role Of Cow Milk In Diabetes |
Early weaning from breast milk has been shown to increase the risk for IDDM. Maternal milk contains colostrum, a light fluid that contains a variety of protective factors for the infant. Infants have an immature and easily penetrable gut system allowing food, in this case cow’s milk, to easily cross into the bloodstream. The gut system works in one of two ways: it will either accept or reject food and its dietary components. Several cow’s milk proteins have been shown to be related to IDDM such as bovine albumin, beta-lactoglobulin, beta casein. A study by Karjalainen in 1992 was conducted to assess whether bovine serum albumin was a trigger for IDDM. Researchers measured the levels of anti-BSA and anti-ABBOS antibodies in the serum of children with newly diagnosed IDDM, children without IDDM. Antibodies that react to the ABBOS also react with a beta cell surface protein that may represent a target for autoimmune attack. All children in the study with IDDM had the highest amount of both antibodies, especially ABBOS, compared to the children without IDDM and blood donors. Do not take doxycycline without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. Antibody levels declined after one or two years of exposure to cow’s milk. When an antigen is present in the body, T cells latch onto a short segment, consisting of about 10 amino acids. T cells then present the antigen to macrophages that engulf it and break it down into smaller protein fragments. The macrophages bring the fragments to the cell surface where capable T cells can bind to it. This activates the T cells, leading to stimulation in other areas to attack all proteins with similar amino acid segments. Bovine serum albumin has a short amino acid sequence similar to a beta cell surface receptor ICA69 and beta casein shares a similar sequence with a glucose transporter. If molecular mimicry occurs here, then presentation of BSA or beta casein in the body would lead to autoimmune destruction. A study conducted by Cavallo found an association with increased risk of newly diagnosed IDDM with beta casein, another milk protein. No differences were noted with BSA and other proteins assessed. Despite these conflicting results, it does appear that some form of cross-reactivity may occur with cow’s milk proteins and islet-cell antigens, leading to auto-attack of the beta cells. The role of cow’s milk related to IDDM is not clear. Do not take doxycycline without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. The hypothesis of molecular mimicry has been questioned. Few studies have found a link between cellular immunity to BSA and IDDM. A recent study found that reactivities to beta casein were similar between newly diagnosed individuals with IDDM, their immediate relatives without the disease, and non-related healthy subjects. One confounding factor of the previous study was the lack of appropriately matched subjects, because researchers failed to use HLA matched relatives. Also, when comparing breast-feeding vs. cow milk formula, it is unclear at what point there is an increased risk, as well as the actual amount needed to induce an immune response. |