"Cooling" Sick Babies May Prevent Brain Damage

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are “cooling” sick newborns to see if the treatment may prevent brain damage. “Preliminary data shows that slightly lowering the baby’s temperature for a few days after birth may reduce the risk of brain damage,” says Dr. Waldemar Carlo, professor of pediatrics and director of the division of neonatology at UAB.

October 10, 2000

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are “cooling” sick newborns to see if the treatment may prevent brain damage. “Preliminary data shows that slightly lowering the baby’s temperature for a few days after birth may reduce the risk of brain damage,” says Dr. Waldemar Carlo, professor of pediatrics and director of the division of neonatology at UAB.

Babies whose hearts have stopped or have nearly stopped within a few minutes of being born are resuscitated and placed in a temperature-controlled water bed. “Babies cannot control their own body temperature,” Carlo says. “By adjusting the temperature of the water bed, we slightly lower the baby’s temperature a couple of degrees.”

Although it’s unclear exactly how “cooling” may help, it is known that survivors of accidents in cold water, as opposed to warm water, can survive much longer with intact brain function. “It may be that lowering the temperature of the brain prevents the release of certain substances or prevents the effects of certain substances that may be harmful to the brain,” Carlo says. “This study will provide a greater understanding of the mechanisms involved.”

Babies are carefully monitored for three days, before their body temperatures are raised to normal. “Previous studies show that three days is the optimal ‘cooling’ time to protect the brain from damage,” Carlo says. “The babies sleep soundly and are not otherwise affected by ‘cooling.’”

The process of “cooling” has been proven beneficial for other patients, such as stroke patients. A study reported in a 1998 issue of The Lancet by researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany found “cooling” decreased the mortality rate of stroke patients from an expected 80 percent to 43 percent. “It is also used to lower the body temperature of patients during heart transplants,” Carlo says.

UAB is one of 14 sites in the United States participating in the study, funded by National Institutes of Health. The two-year study at UAB will enroll 20 babies.