New method can help prevent brain damage in newborn infants
Birth asphyxia is a common cause of brain damage in newborns. Therapeutic cooling of children is a clinically used therapy, however, of eight children treated only one is saved from the development of severe disability. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy have through experiments on mice identified a substance that can help save newborns from persistent brain damage.
Birth asfyxia means that the baby suffers from a combination of lack and oxygen and reduced blood supply during or prior to delivery. In severe cases, asphyxia can lead to the development of persistent brain damage, so called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The brain damage is lethal in some newborns, those who survive have a high risk of developing persistent neurological complications, such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy or mental retardation.
Children with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy are treated by cooling which means reduction of body temperature to between 33 and 35oC for up to 72 hours. However, of eight children treated only one is saved from the development of severe disability.
Team of researchers led by Associate Professor Marcela Pekna from The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg performed experiments in which they injected mice with a molecule (called C3a peptide) 1 hour after asphyxia. Their results showed that this treatment prevented asphyxia-induced learning deficit when the mice were tested more then a month later.
The C3a peptide is part of the innate immune response called complement that is best known for its role in protecting us against pathogenic bacteria. Our study shows that complement is an interesting target for the treatment of brain damage caused by birth asphyxia, says Marcela Pekna.
The Sahlgrenska Academy team is now planning to test various routes of administration of the C3a peptide not only after neonatal hypoxia-ischemia but also after experimental stroke. Their goal is to minimize disability of children suffering from neonatal hypoxia-ischemia and improve functional outcome of ischemic stroke patients.
The study Receptor for complement peptide C3a: a therapeutic target for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury was published in The FASEB Journal on the 2nd of September.
Link to the article:
http://www.fasebj.org/content/early/2013/06/04/fj.13-230011.long
Contact:
Assoc. Prof. Marcela Pekna,Sahlgrenska Academy, Institute of neuroscience and Physiology, Laboratory of Regenerative Neuroimmunology
+4631 786 35 81
+46709 32 34 85
Marcela.Pekna@neuro.gu.se
FACTS:
Severe cases of birth asphyxia can lead to acute brain damage, so called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. This condition is caused by the disruption of blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain prior to or during delivery and occurs in 1-2 of 1000 live term births. Recent advances in critical care and therapeutic cooling have improved the survival rate of infants affected by hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, but approximately 40 percent of the survivors develop neurological complication such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy or mental retardation.
Press Officer
Krister Svahn
Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg
46766-18 38 69
4631-786 3869
krister.svahn@sahlgrenska.gu.se
The Sahlgrenska Academy is the faculty of health sciences at the University of Gothenburg. Education and research are conducted within the fields of pharmacy, medicine, odontology and health care sciences. About 4,000 undergraduate students and 1,200 postgraduate students are enrolled at Sahlgrenska Academy. Around 1,400 people work at the Sahlgrenska Academy. 850 of them are researchers and/or teachers. 2012 Sahlgrenska Academy had a turnover of 2,100 million SEK.