Cooling Babies Helps Reduce Long-Term Brain Damage

Research suggests cooling babies deprived of oxygen at birth improves their chance of growing up without disabilities, such as cerebral palsy.

A study carried out by The New England Journal of Medicine found new-borns that were given the treatment were more likely to have a higher IQ score at school.

Babies were placed on a special mat and cooled at 33 degrees C for three days in order to reduce brain injury.

Experts say the study that was carried out confirms the therapy has effects that are long lasting.

An estimate of one in 500 new-borns in the UK suffers from asphyxia, which is a lack of oxygen around the time of birth.

It can set off a flow of processes in the body, which result in the gradual death of brain cells, which leaves babies at risk of brain damage and even death.

There was no approved treatment, until 2009, when over 300 new-borns showed cooling treatment, also known as therapeutic hypothermia could help decrease brain damage at 18 months.

Researches have said the therapy works by slowing the production of harmful substances in the brain and the rate of brain cell death.

However, how long the improvements will last is still unclear.

The study examined children’s IQ scores, memory power, attention spans, and signs of disability.

Children that went through the cooling process at birth were less likely to have neurological abnormalities and performed better in tests of manual ability when compared to those who received standard treatment.