Premature babies preventing hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy
| Location: | Division of Child Health, University of Bristol Medical School, Southmead Hospital in conjunction with Departments of Child Health and Paediatric Pathology St Michael’s Hospital, Bristol. |
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| Amount: | £114,470 |
| Status: | Research completed |
| Start Date: | 12th March 2001 |
| Finish Date: | 14th July 2003 |
| Grantholder: | Professor Andrew G L Whitelaw MD FRCPCH, Dr Marianne Thoresen PhD FRCPCH and Dr Helen J Porter MD FRCPath |
| Research worker: | Dr H J Porter and Ms T Searle |
One of the serious complications of premature birth is bleeding into the ventricles of the brain. This can give rise to hydrocephalus (water on the brain), often resulting in cerebral palsy and multiple disability, affecting several hundred babies a year in the UK. Previous treatments for hydrocephalus have been frustrating and many babies have to depend on an implanted device (shunt) to redirect the excess fluid elsewhere in their body. This team is investigating the ‘signal molecule’ which produces the scarring around the brain thought to be responsible for causing hydrocephalus. By injecting an antibody which can specifically block this signal molecule, they hope to prevent this complication and thereby avoid the need for shunt surgery.
