Projects
Brain-specific blood biomarkers of injury in the growth restricted newborn
2022 RBWH and RBWH Foundation Research Project Grant
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Project description
Fetal growth restriction (FGR) can affect the developing brain, resulting in poor outcomes such as intellectual impairment and cerebral palsy. This research project by Prof Paul Colditz and his team aimed to validate brain-derived markers of brain injury in the FGR newborn blood.
Why this work is needed
More than a third of the smallest premature babies within the Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit at RBWH have a brain injury at school age because of FGR. This may be presented as a learning disability, cerebral palsy, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or autism. By determining how the smallest blood vessels in premature babies differ and why excessive fluid moves from the vessels into the brain, compromising oxygen delivery, it will be possible to provide early intervention for these babies.
Outcomes
A few steps of this project are still underway. The team has collected blood from FGR newborns and is currently assessing brain-derived markers to show they can detect brain injury in newborn blood.
The project has the potential to detect early changes in blood biomarkers, which could be of direct use to clinicians diagnosing newborns at risk of brain injury to quickly and accurately establish a response to treatment.
