Keeping a Cool Head May Prevent Brain Injuries in Newborns
A new head-cooling device aims to prevent or reduce the severity of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) — a potentially fatal brain injury in the newborn caused by inadequate blood flow or by oxygen deprivation during labour or delivery.
How It Works
Cooling is thought to help prevent the neurological damage that continues to occur over a period of hours or days following oxygen deprivation. Brain cooling must be initiated within six hours of the initial injury and maintained for 72 hours.
Who Might Benefit
An estimated one to two babies per 1,000 term live births are at risk of HIE.About 25% to 30% of babies who survive HIE will be left with lifelong disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, seizure disorder, and cognitive disability. No other current therapies exist to improve the outcome from HIE, beyond supportive care and anticonvulsants for seizure control.
Regulatory Status
Evidence
Longer-term outcomes, such as cognitive function at school age, are currently unknown. Several studies investigating the use of whole body cooling for the treatment of HIE are now underway.
Adverse Events
With Cool-Cap treatment, temporary scalp swelling, slowed heart rate, and a modest rise in plasma glucose occurred, but these were not clinically significant.
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