New Research Study on Newborn Babies and Cerebral Palsy
A recent study conducted by the Division of Clinical Sciences & Medical Research at the Imperial College of London and Dr. Denis Azzopardi found that “cooling” a child that suffered a lack of oxygen at birth significantly decreases the incidence of cerebral palsy.
The study titled Total Body Hypothermia for Neonatal Encephalopathy Trial (TOBY), found that babies with perinatal asphyxial encephalopathy (lack of oxygen leading to brain damage and cerebral palsy) are 56 percent less likely to develop cerebral palsy or any neurological damage if their body temperature was dropped to 33.5 C shortly after birth. This is done in an incubator by placing a liquid cooling blanket over the child for 72 hours.
This is a very important study because lack of oxygen is a major cause of cerebral palsy. This study indicates that over half of the children that have cerebral palsy as a result of a lack of oxygen would have avoided any long term neurological damage as a result of the lack of oxygen. Further testing needs to be done, but the results of this test look very promising.
