COOLING LESSENS BRAIN DAMAGE

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COOLING LESSENS BRAIN DAMAGE
26 March 2007 - University of Bristol

Cooling the brains of babies deprived of oxygen at birth can reduce the risk of brain damage and cerebral palsy, according to an international study. To achieve cooling, the body temperature of babies in the trial was lowered by 3-4 degrees for 72 hours after birth, using a water-filled cap.

The research was undertaken in hospitals in North America, New Zealand and the UK, and 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.

Babies were recruited if there was evidence that the infant had received an inadequate supply of oxygen to the brain during delivery, and when electrical activity from the brain indicated a high risk of brain injury.

The trial, which was supported by Olympic Medical from Seattle, USA indicates that, for some babies, cooling can significantly reduce brain damage. “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.

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 developed the discovery to the point where the treatment could be tested in babies.

“The success of this long scientific collaboration is a great example of UK institutions working together to be international leaders, able to collaborate effectively and fruitfully with researchers around the world”comments Professor David Edwards from Imperial College.

However, Bristol researcher Professor Andrew Whitelaw points out that: ‘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”.

http://www.bris.ac.uk

About: University of Bristol
The University College of Bristol opened in 1876, after six years of discussions and controversy, in a bid to bring university culture to the provinces. It was the first college in the country to admit men and women on an equal footing.

The University’s Research and Enterprise Development (RED) division was launched in 2000 to stimulate and support an entrepreneurial culture and encourage the growth of technology-based business.

2003 saw the completion of the Dorothy Hodgkin building, named after the University’s fifth Chancellor. The £18 million building is dedicated to research in neuroendocrinology. 2003 also saw the opening of the University’s £5 million Centre for Sport, Exercise and Health.

Work on a new, state-of-the-art engineering building is due to be completed in early 2004. The £20 million BLADE project (Bristol Laboratory for Advanced Dynamics Engineering) will bring together the Engineering Faculty’s six departments to establish Europe’s most advanced dynamics engineering research facilities.

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