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An innovative study has claimed that the key to saving the lives of newborns is in half a teaspoon of blood.
The research has revealed dramatic changes in the immune system of newborns, which scientists say could transform our understanding of the disease in babies.
Co-led by the MRC Unit of The Gambia, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and published in Nature Communications, research has revealed changes in the developmental pathways of newborn cells related to the fight against the infection.
The researchers took blood samples of babies at a health center in The Gambia, at birth and again at one, three or seven-day age. They discovered thousands of changes in the expression of genes and components related to immunity in babies during the first week of life. They then compared the results with those of samples taken from a group of babies in Papua New Guinea. They concluded that the changes were not random but specific to age.
One of the biggest challenges in collecting data on newborn development has been the collection of sufficiently large blood samples to profile tiny babies. The researchers overcame this problem by refining their techniques to allow smaller samples.
The researchers said they hoped the findings would inform studies of newborn vaccines, the population most at risk of fatal infections, particularly in developing countries.
Beate Kampmann, lead author and professor of pediatrics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: "Knowledge about key development processes in our early days remains scarce, but this study addresses some of these critical gaps. This work is particularly important for vaccine research.
"Newborns benefit from very limited protection against infection early in life and it is urgent to optimize protective measures, including vaccines, used in this group of patients. 39; age. "
The first days of life are a time of rapid biological change, with babies adapting to life outside their mother's womb in a world exposed to bacteria and viruses. However, it is surprising to find that little is known about these changes at the molecular level, said Kampmann.
Scientists wish to work in real-life conditions, she said, to better understand infant immune development in a context where new interventions could have a greater impact on survival, paving the way for the development of newborns. identification of newborns most at risk of disease and the development of vaccines that could be beneficial to them.
Ofer Levy, Boston Children's Hospital, and lead author of the journal, said, "Currently, most vaccines are developed by trial and error. We are looking for in-depth molecular knowledge of the function of early life vaccines so that we can develop vaccines for infants more effectively in the future. "
According to estimates of the World Health Organization, 5.4 million children under the age of five died in 2017, including 2.5 million in the first month of their lives.
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