Decades of research into understanding the impact and mechanisms of mild hypothermia treatment to reduce brain injury in newborn babies was recognised with the award of the Royal Societys MacDiarmid Medal this week. University of Auckland Professor of Paediatrics and Physiology, Professor Alistair Jan Gunn was awarded the MacDiarmid Medal for his research into using brain cooling to prevent brain injury in babies who experience low oxygen at birth. The MacDiarmid Medal is for outstanding scientific research which demonstrates potential for human benefit. He developed "cooling cap" to treat babies with brain injury at birth, and led research into the best way the technique could be used for optimum outcomes. Professor Gunns mother, the late Professor Tania Gunn was herself an eminent paediatrician and neonatologist, specialising in the care of newborn babies. Together they carried out a pioneering randomised, safety study of head cooling for babies in New Zealand in the late nineties. His ongoing experimental studies provided the foundation for understanding how, when and for which babies, the cooling cap can successfully reduce brain damage. "Professor Gunn has made a major contribution to perinatal physiology and neuroscience," says the MacDiarmid Medal selection panel. This study established that therapeutic cooling … Continue reading →

An Auckland professor has been awarded a medal for using a cooling cap that induces mild hypothermia to treat and prevent brain injuries in newborn babies. Alistair Gunn was awarded the MacDiarmid Medal on Wednesday for his research into the use of brain cooling on babies who experience low oxygen at birth. Using his research, the University of Auckland professor of paediatrics and physiology developed a "cooling cap", a mild hypothermia treatment to reduce brain injury in newborns. Dr Gunn's ongoing experimental studies are credited with providing the foundation for understanding how, when and for which babies, the cooling cap can successfully reduce brain damage. Based on those results, he went on to develop and lead a major international trial involving 25 perinatal centres and 234 babies in New Zealand, the US, Canada and the UK. This trial demonstrated cooling could improve survival among babies and prevent disability in all but the most severely affected babies. Follow-ups with the children at age seven and eight confirmed these results, which were supported by subsequent trials carried out by others around the world. Therapeutic hypothermia is now the global standard of care for treating babies with brain injury caused by low oxygen … Continue reading →

Darboy, WI --A Darboy family has been through more tragedy in the past few years than most people experience in a lifetime. Now, the community is wrapping their arms around them to help them heal emotionally, physically and financially. 23-year-old Ellie Schaefer loves to cook. She has autism and was independent up until a few years ago when two biking accidents caused a traumatic brain injury. "Things that maybe you can do with a 5-year-old, I can't do with a 23-year-old," explained Ellie's mother, Susan Lewis. In a quest to help her daughter heal, Susan took her doctor's advice and began traveling to Colorado and Texas for specialized treatment. Besides the brain injury, a benign growth in the core of Ellie's brain also appeared on the scans. "One image alone is $3,900, so it's been difficult," Susan said. Health insurance won't cover the out-of-state care. Then, tragedy struck again. In April, a candle lit Ellie's room on fire and destroyed much of the house. Ellie's step dad was hospitalized with burns after rescuing her from the flames. Then during rebuilding of the home, flooding damaged their basement. "I just struggle everyday because of the house fire, and yeah it's hard … Continue reading →