Contributed by Lisa Olen| 28 January, 2005 13:29 GMT
"This demonstrates for the first time that treatment may be possible for babies who suffer oxygen deprivation at birth."
The discovery some years ago that the effects of oxygen deprivation at birth are not immediate has led medical researchers to look for ways to prevent the brain damage that often results. An international study published January 28 in The Lancet online shows that cooling the brains of babies deprived of oxygen at birth can reduce the risk of brain damage and cerebral palsy.The research was undertaken in hospitals in North America, New Zealand and the UK. The UK arm of the trial was carried out in University College London Hospital, the University of Bristol at St Michael's and Southmead Hospitals, and Imperial College London at Hammersmith Hospital.
Body Temperature Lowered 3 to 4 Degrees
Babies were recruited if there were evidence that the infant had received an inadequate supply of oxygen to the brain during delivery, or when electrical activity from the brain indicated a high risk of brain injury.
To achieve cooling, the body temperature of babies in the trial was lowered by 3 to 4 degrees for 72 hours after birth using a water-filled cap.
The trial, which was supported by Olympic Medical from Seattle, US, indicates that, for some babies, cooling can reduce brain damage significantly. "This demonstrates for the first time that treatment may be possible for babies who suffer oxygen deprivation at birth," comments Professor Marianne Thoresen from Bristol University. Most of the English babies were treated in the Bristol hospitals.
Oxygen Deprivation Triggers Chemical Cascade
It was discovered some years ago that when the brain is starved of oxygen at birth, damage does not occur immediately; instead, as Professor John Wyatt of University College London points out, "a chemical cascade is triggered leading to brain damage hours or days afterwards."
The cooling study results from a long series of studies begun a decade ago when the UK researchers started to work on the problem together with a group from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. In experiments, they found that cooling prevented the chemical cascade from causing permanent brain damage, and they developed the discovery to the point where the treatment could be tested in babies.
"We need to get further information on the timing and methods of cooling, as well as which babies are most suitable for treatment, before cooling becomes the standard of care for oxygen-deprived babies," Bristol researcher Professor Andrew Whitelaw points out. |
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