Yasoo to develop nutritional formula for CF
nutritional formulation for sufferers of cystic fibrosis after
receiving almost $1 million from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) currently affects about 30,000 people in the US, and about 40,000 people in the EU-25. Approximatley 10 million people in the US carry the defective gene. The disease only manifests itself when the child of two carriers express both genes.
The child of two CF carriers has a one in four chance of having the disease, a one in two chance of being a carrier, and a one in four chance of being free of a defective gene.
Two defected CF genes leads the child to produce abnormally sticky and thick mucus that lines the surface of the lungs an can lead to clogging and a higher chance of lung infections. The pancreas is also affected by sticky secretions which inhibit the passage of digestive enzymes, upsetting the metabolism of food and the subsequent absorption of nutrients in the intestine.
Studies have suggested that CF patients have below normal levels of key fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants despite supplementation.
"Optimal nutrition remains one of the best tools CF patients have to hold back progression of their disease. However, current vitamin supplements for CF could be more effective if made more absorbable," said Preston Campbell of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The new formulation from Yasoo, code-named CF1, is designed to deliver easy absorption of the key nutrients.
A prototype formulation has been developed that encompasses a patented technology that makes nutrient absorption easier.
Andrea Papas, President of Yasoo Health, told NutraIngredients-USA.com: "We are water-based organisms. The formulation works by making the fat-soluble vitamins water-soluble by encapsulating the nutrients in micelles. By making the nutrients water-soluble we help the body absorb them."
The formulation was clinically evealuated at the University of Colorado Children's Hospital and the results were presented at the 2005 North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference.
The micelle technology is also applicable to other diseases and conditions where absorption is a problem, said Papas, like Crohn's disease, Coeliac disease and AIDS.
