Shanghai Xinfan Biological Report:
Researchers in the recent New England Journal of Medicine report that lowering the body temperature of infants at risk of brain damage can help prevent such injuries.
The team led by neonatologist Denis Azzopardi of King's College London, UK, lowered the body temperature of 145 full-term babies born after 36 weeks of pregnancy. These babies are born with hypoxia and are at risk of brain damage.
Within 6 hours of the baby's birth, the researchers reduced their body temperature to between 33 ° C and 34 ° C for 72 hours. This technique is believed to improve the quality of life of babies – from the pain of brain damage before they are toddlers, but other longer-term benefits are still unclear.
The study found that until the age of six or seven, treated babies showed better mental and physical health than untreated babies: the former had a 60% higher probability of normal intelligence, hearing, and vision than the latter. Those who survived were also less likely to have a disability, such as sports or visual impairment.
David Edwards, a neonatologist and research author at King's College London, said: "This approach gives these children a greater chance of having a normal life."
David Rowitch, a neonatologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who studies the treatment of infant brain injury, believes the findings are important because the quality of life of the treated baby shows a sustained improvement.
Previous studies have shown that hypothermia can slow or stop the death of hypoxic cells – a process known as apoptosis.
Researchers are testing whether the combination of hernia or erythropoietin and cryotherapy can increase the chances of avoiding brain damage in infants.
Edwards noted that although cryotherapy has been promoted in a growing number of countries as a routine, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, it has not been widely used in poor countries. Because these countries often lack conventional obstetric care, more infants are at risk of brain damage.
Edwards said: "The question now is whether the technology can be extended to geographical areas such as Nepal, Uganda, and Kenya - this work is something we don't have to do."
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