Hypothermia Treatment for Cerebral Palsy

One focus of this blog will be to discuss the special needs and disabilities we are raising money for. The goal is to raise awareness of possible treatments, therapies, surgeries etc. In no way do we recommend any of these treatments without first consulting with a doctor. Please feel free to send comments about these discussions.

Today I want to talk about hypothermia treatment, which is a relatively new treatment for cerebral palsy (CP). The treatment window is very limited and research shows it must be initiated within six hours of birth. The cause of CP is still debated, however one of the major contributing factors is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), or loss of oxygen at birth. HIE is commonly referred to as asphyxia. According to Anne Hansen, MD, MPH, medical director of the NICU, and Janet Soul, MD, CM, associate director of the Neonatal Neurology Program at Children's Hospital Boston, HIE occurs in two stages. The first is before the birth where the brain has a lack of oxygen due to inadequate blood flow, and the second is after birth when there is secondary energy failure. This means that the brain cells are depleted of energy during asphyxia due to a lack of oxygen and glucose. When the brain is injured from asphyxia or trauma the brain will continue to damage itself for a period of time after the injury. This is caused by metabolic processes of the brain. When the newborn is exposed to hypothermia treatment the the brain requires less energy. When there is less energy required for brain function, the brain incurs less damage. Basically if you slow the brain down you prevent it from further damaging itself.

Children's Hospital Boston has performed hypothermia treatment on three newborns who showed signs of asphyxia. The newborns were placed on cooling blankets for 72 hours and then slowly warmed to normal body temperature. Two of the newborns showed normal MRI's after the treatment and the third had a tiny spot on the brain which most likely will have no effect on brain function.

There is some controversy over this treatment but I commend Anne and Janet for their pioneering work in this field. Their new and innovative method shows very positive results in their early trials. Congrats!

For more information and to read the articles I gathered information from, follow these links:
http://www.childrenshospital.org/views/feb08/new_induced_hypothermia.html
http://pub.ucsf.edu/newsservices/releases/200811135/
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/336/8/540

Jon Thornham