Method of assessing infection status
AssigneeMedela Holding AG
InventorFoteini Hassiotou
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a method for assessing the infection status of a subject and in particular to a method for assessing the infection status of a subject by analysing the cellular and/or humoral composition of breastmilk from said subject. The invention has been developed primarily for use as a method for detecting infection in a breastfeeding mother and/or infant.
Claims18
A method of assessing the infection status of a breastfeeding mother and/or of an infant being breastfed by said mother, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) analysing the composition of immunological markers in a breastmilk sample obtained from said breastfeeding mother;
- and
- b) comparing said composition with a reference,
- wherein a difference in the composition of immunological markers in said breastmilk sample when compared to said reference is indicative of a change in the infection status of said mother and/or said infant.
A method of assessing the infection status of a breastfeeding mother and/or of an infant being breastfed by said mother, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) determining the proportion of immune cells (ICs) in a breastmilk sample obtained from said breastfeeding mother;
- and
- b) comparing said proportion of ICs with a reference,
- wherein an increase in the proportion of said ICs when compared to said reference indicates that said mother and/or said infant have an infection.
A method of assessing the infection status of a breastfeeding mother and/or of an infant being breastfed by said mother, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) determining the relative proportions of an IC-type within the total IC population in breastmilk obtained from said breastfeeding mother to establish a IC-type profile of said breastmilk;
- and
- b) comparing said IC-type profile with a reference,
- wherein a relative change in the IC-type profile when compared to said reference indicates that said mother and/or said infant have an infection.
4-8. (canceled)
The method of claim 5, wherein said ICs are leukocytes and wherein said proportion of leukocytes within said reference is between 0 and 2%.
The method of claim 5, wherein said increase in the proportion of said ICs is an increase in leukocytes of up to about 94% leukocytes of total breastmilk cells.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.