CEREBRAL PALSY NEWS
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"New Treatments Necessary For Preemies"
April 18, 2007
A new study indicates that infants born prematurely are susceptible to serious injury to the white matter area of the brain, which can lead to cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. Consequently, researchers say a new treatment approach is necessary to prevent damage to these babies.
Infants born before the eighth month of pregnancy are considered to be premature, and almost half of all preemies experience some type of brain injury.
“These injuries can lead to behavioral problems, developmental delay, cognitive impairment, or cerebral palsy,” said lead researcher Dr. Mark P. Goldber. “In this study, we've identified a unique vulnerability in the developing brain's white matter that likely contributes to those disabilities. We will be looking for new drug treatments to prevent injury,” he added.
Study Findings
While researchers had previously connected a nervous system messenger compound called glutamate to adult brain damage, the compound wasn't always associated with injury to the developing brain.
To determine how a premature baby's brain responds to damage, Goldberg and his colleagues conducted a study on lab mice. The researchers evaluated small slivers of brain from three, seven, 10 and 21-day old mice.
They deprived the brain slices of oxygen and glucose for 60 minutes, and noted that in every case, the glial cells and axons suffered the most extensive injury. When the scientists incorporated glutamate receptor blocking drugs before cutting of oxygen and glucose, they found the drugs actually worked to minimize brain damage in all but one age group.
“In the three-day-old mouse brain slices, the blockers couldn't prevent damage to the axons. So something other than glutamate is killing the axons at that point in brain development,” Goldberg said.
A three-day old mouse's brain can be compared developmentally to the brain of a human fetus during six to seven months of pregnancy.
Goldberg concludes that the slice study “turns out to be a powerful tool for seeking out and testing new drugs, so we want to test a number of new pharmaceuticals to see if any can protect axons in early brain development.
