lactoferrin ---Selected recent research

​Val's Take/Conjecture

• NOTE:  I am NOT a doctor --- I'm not recommending any treatments.
• On the other hand, I am recommending we investigate Lactoferrin further.

​This is complicated, of course.

• There is a study from 1982 showing that people with schizophrenia have MORE LACTOFERRIN.

​At the time, this was thought to reflect an abnormal inflammatory response in people with schizophrenia.

• Elevated serum levels of lactoferrin and eosinophil cationic protein in schizophrenic patients (1982)

​See also:

• Global Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis of Research on Lactoferrin from 1978 to 2024 (2024)

Lactoferrin deficiency during lactation increases the risk of depressive-like behavior in adult mice (2023)

Lactoferrin alleviates Western diet-induced cognitive impairment through the microbiome-gut-brain axis (2023)

​"Thus, Lf [Lactoferrin] intervention alleviated cognitive impairment by inhibiting microglial activation and neuroinflammation through the microbiome-gut-brain axis."

The Lactoferrin Phenomenon-A Miracle Molecule (2022)

​Abstract

Numerous harmful factors that affect the human body from birth to old age cause many disturbances, e.g., in the structure of the genome, inducing cell apoptosis [programmed cell death] and their degeneration, which leads to the development of many diseases, including cancer.

Among the factors leading to pathological processes, microbes, viruses, gene dysregulation and immune system disorders have been described.

The function of a protective agent may be played by lactoferrin as a "miracle molecule", an endogenous protein with a number of favorable antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant, immunostimulatory and binding DNA properties.

The purpose of this article is to present the broad spectrum of properties and the role that lactoferrin plays in protecting human cells at all stages of life.

​Unlocking the power of Lactoferrin: Exploring its role in early life and its preventive potential for adult chronic diseases (2024)

​Abstract

Nutrition during the early postnatal period exerts a profound impact on both infant development and later-life health.

Breast milk, which contains lactoferrin, a dynamic protein, plays a crucial role in the growth of various biological systems and in preventing numerous chronic diseases.

Based on the relationship between early infant development and chronic diseases later in life, this paper presents a review of the effects of lactoferrin in early life on neonates intestinal tract, immune system, nervous system, adipocyte development, and early intestinal microflora establishment, as well as the preventive and potential mechanisms of early postnatal lactoferrin against adult allergy, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, cancer, and obesity.

Furthermore, we summarized the application status of lactoferrin in the early postnatal period and suggested directions for future research.

Lactoferrin alleviates the adverse effects of early-life inflammation on depression in adults by regulating the activation of microglia (2025)

​"Our findings suggest that lactoferrin intake during lactation protects neurons by regulating microglial activation, thereby effectively reducing depressive symptoms in adults."

​Lactoferrin Attenuates Pro-Inflammatory Response and Promotes the Conversion into Neuronal Lineages in the Astrocytes (2025)