A new treatment for infants who have experienced birth asphyxia, one of the causes of cerebral palsy, is the subject of research at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.

When a newborn is deprived of oxygen at birth, the brain is vulnerable to damage; but because the brain damage happens over time, during a period of anywhere from hours to days, there is a window of opportunity to prevent, or at the least, reduce that damage. Doctors take advantage of this chance to improve the infant’s outcome by cooling the newborn, which slows down the process of cell death in the brain. Unfortunately this cooling therapy only shows results in one out of nine babies treated this way; and furthermore there are many infants, such as those born prematurely, who cannot be safely subjected to cooling therapy.

Ylva Carlsson, the researcher leading the new study in Sweden, looked for an alternative method of slowing down the process of cell death. The focus of her research was on an enzyme which controls the components of apoptosis, (cell death) which is the cause of the brain damage which can lead to cerebral palsy. Carlsson, who conducted the research for her doctoral thesis,explained the role of this enzyme in the development of brain damage.

 
“We’ve mapped the role this enzyme plays in the development of brain damage in newborns who suffer from birth asphyxia,” says Carlsson. “The results show that a reduction in the amount of this enzyme also reduces the extent of the brain damage. Added protection is given if cooling therapy is used too.”

 
Carlsson’s thesis also examined the relationship of age to brain damage. Using mice, she was able to show that treatments that protect fully grown individuals from brain damage can actually make the brain damage worse in infants and newborns.

“This may mean that some drugs developed for brain damage in adults should probably not be given to newborn babies,” says Carlsson. “Tailor-made treatments targeting specific brain damage mechanisms and combination treatments for children may therefore be the way forward. But first we need to look more closely at how best to control these proteins without disrupting other key functions in the growing brain.”