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BALTIMORE -- The more breast milk premature infants consume, the faster their brains appear to develop, according to a small observational study.

Erin Reynolds of Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues, used MRI imaging to measure the total cortical surface area and total brain development of very premature infants, with a mean gestational age of just under 27 weeks. In a linear regression analysis adjusting for significant clinical variables, they found an association between breast milk consumption and both total cortical surface area (P=0.011) and total brain volume (P=0.024).

However, there was no significance between breast milk consumption and separate tissue volumes once the analysis was adjusted for total brain volume.

These findings were presented at the (PAS) annual meeting.

In an email to MedPage Today, co-author , also of Washington University, characterized these findings as "preliminary data" and said that more research is needed, but that their findings are in line with what neonatologists are already doing.

"The neonatologists we work with are already some of the strongest proponents of breast milk for very preterm infants so these preliminary findings only further support what neonatologists are currently promoting," she said.

The cohort of 77 very premature infants (<30 weeks gestation) was 60% female, and after adjusting for significant clinical variables, breast milk consumption predicted changes in total brain volume for female infants, but not for males.

"This is especially interesting because some previously published data shows breast milk has more of an impact on males and their brain development," said Reynolds at the presentation.

She speculated that significance may have not been reached among male infants due to the small sample size.

While not involved with the study, , chair, ' (AAP) committee on fetus and newborn told MedPage Today that because babies who are sicker get less enteral feeding (and thus, less breast milk), the data may simply be interpreted as a proxy for illness.

"The sicker the baby, you'd expect to see more changes on the MRI scan," she said. "If you're trying to say babies who get more breast milk get this, you can't do that unless you randomize them. You might be getting proxy for something you're not even thinking about."

Rogers said that a more extensive investigation was needed with a larger sample size was needed in order to further support the preliminary conclusions of the study, and hoped to see if breast milk consumption had a positive impact on cognitive development by following these infants into childhood and even adolescence.

"We would like to if the effects on developmental outcomes persist with 5 year cognitive outcome data on these subjects," she said. "We are also pursuing additional funding to obtain MRI scans during preadolescence on this cohort so we can see if there are long term effects on brain development from early breast milk consumption."

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