Early Identification of Infants Who Will Benefit From Neural Rescue Treatment

出生前、出生期间或出生后立即缺乏氧气供应可能导致严重残疾或死亡。每500名新生儿中就有一人发生这种情况，这是儿科最重要但尚未解决的问题之一。对涉及的个人和整个社区来说，成本(财政和其他)都非常高。然而，受这种情况影响的人的前景正在改善。最近的研究集中在神经救援疗法的开发上，这可能会减少这些儿童遭受的残疾程度。同样的治疗方法对濒临溺水和头部创伤的儿童也可能有帮助。神经抢救疗法必须在导致氧气供应减少的事件发生后24小时内实施。因此，在对这些疗法进行测试之前，有必要找到一种方法来快速判断哪些婴儿可能从这些疗法中受益。这项研究将尝试一种新的方法，这种方法成本低廉，可以在不将婴儿从保育箱中移走的情况下使用。这项技术涉及一项已建立的技术的新应用，以检测大脑内水分的重新分配，这是脑细胞即将死亡的最早迹象之一。研究团队由皇家妇女医院和S母院重症监护托儿所的医务人员以及在使用这项技术方面经验丰富的科学人员组成。如果这种技术是有效的，它将使婴儿从新的治疗中获得最大的好处，并减少这些儿童及其家庭遭受的长期困难。

Lack of oxygen supply before, during or immediately after birth can lead to severe disability or death. This occurs in about 1 in every 500 births and is one of the most important but unsolved problems in pediatrics. The costs (financial and other) to both the individuals involved, and the community in general, is very high. However the outlook for those affected by this condition is improving. Recent research has focused on the development of neural rescue therapies, which may decrease the extent of disabilities suffered by these children. The same treatments may also be helpful in children following near drowning and head trauma. Neural rescue therapies must be applied less than 24 hours following the event which has caused the reduction in oxygen supply. Thus, before these treatments can be tested, it is necessary to find a way to quickly tell which babies may benefit from the treatments. This study will trial a new method which is inexpensive and can be used without moving the baby away from its incubator. This technique involves a new application of an established technology to detect the redistribution of water within the brain one of the earliest signs of impending brain cell death. The research team consists of medical personnel from the intensive care nurseries of both the Royal Women's Hospital and the Mater Mother s Hospital, as well as scientific staff experienced in the use of this technology. If this technique is effective, it will enable babies to receive maximum benefit from new treatments and reduce long-term difficulties suffered by these children and their families.