Medication may be able to sharply alter the course of cerebral palsy, scientists said Wednesday, after finding that animals with the developmental condition responded remarkably to a new treatment. Within five days of being given an anti-inflammatory drug, researchers found that newborn rabbits with cerebral palsy made dramatic progress. The animals were able to walk and hop, tasks theyd had great difficulty with prior to the treatment. The findings, reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine, offer tremendous promise for people with the developmental disability, researchers said. This suggests that there is a window of opportunity to prevent cerebral palsy, said Roberto Romero, chief of the Perinatology Research Branch of the National Institutes of Health and an author of the study. For the study, researchers replicated in rabbits the brain inflammation often seen in people with cerebral palsy. They then used tiny molecules known as dendrimers to deliver an anti-inflammatory drug called N-acetyl-L-cysteine, or NAC, directly to the affected part of the brain. The rabbits that received this treatment showed marked progress as compared to those who received saline or NAC alone without the targeted drug delivery, though benefits were seen in both groups that received medication. This is an … Continue reading →

Nature | Health Rabbits with brain injuries hop again after treatment--synthetic molecules affixed with an anti-inflammatory drug--crosses the blood brain barrier April 18, 2012 By Amy Maxmen of Nature magazine By tacking drugs onto molecules targeting rogue brain cells, researchers have alleviated symptoms in newborn rabbits that are similar to those of cerebral palsy in children. Cerebral palsy refers to a group of incurable disorders characterized by impairments in movement, posture and sensory abilities. In general, medicines tend to act broadly rather than influence certain sets of cells in the brain. "You don't expect molecules to enter the brain, and if they do, you don't expect them to target specific cells, and immediately act therapeutically -- but all of this happened," says study co-author Rangaramanujam Kannan, a chemical engineer at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. The paper is published today in Science Translational Medicine. According the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 303 children have cerebral palsy by age 8, which usually results from neurological damage in the womb, caused by, for example, a kink in the umbilical cord that briefly dimishes the foetus' oxygen, or maternal infection. Such injuries lead … Continue reading →

DETROIT Researchers at the Perinatology Research Branch of the National Institutes of Health, housed at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Detroit Medical Center, have demonstrated that a nanotechnology-based drug treatment in newborn rabbits with cerebral palsy enabled dramatic improvement of movement disorders, and the inflammatory process of the brain that causes many cases of CP. The findings strongly suggest that there is an opportunity immediately after birth for drug treatment that could minimize CP. The study is the first to show that an anti-inflammatory drug delivered with a nanodevice can dramatically improve the symptoms of CP in an animal model. The report, Dendrimer-Based Postnatal Therapy for Neuroinflammation and Cerebral Palsy in a Rabbit Model, will be released Thursday in the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The key finding of this work is that early identification of neuroinflammation allows postnatal treatment, said Roberto Romero, M.D., Chief of the Perinatology Research Branch of the NIH and an author of the study. This suggests that there is a window of opportunity to prevent cerebral palsy, and that the condition may be preventable. Cerebral palsy is a disorder of the … Continue reading →

Public release date: 18-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Julie O'Connor julie.oconnor@wayne.edu 313-577-8845 Wayne State University - Office of the Vice President for Research Researchers at the Perinatology Research Branch of the National Institutes of Health, located at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Detroit Medical Center, have demonstrated that a nanotechnology-based drug treatment in newborn rabbits with cerebral palsy (CP) enabled dramatic improvement of movement disorders and the inflammatory process of the brain that causes many cases of CP. The findings strongly suggest that there may be an opportunity immediately after birth for drug treatment that could minimize CP. The study is the first to show that an anti-inflammatory drug delivered with a nanodevice can dramatically improve CP symptoms in an animal model. The report, "Dendrimer-Based Postnatal Therapy for Neuroinflammation and Cerebral Palsy in a Rabbit Model," was published April 18 in the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "The key finding of this work is that early identification of neuroinflammation allows postnatal treatment," said Roberto Romero, M.D., D.Med.Sci., chief of the Perinatology Research Branch and an author of the study. "This suggests that there … Continue reading →

Study points to advance the treatment of cerebral palsy Rabbit kittens treated with a new drug had improvement in motor function A new treatment helped rabbits born with cerebral palsy to recover to an almost normal mobility, giving rise to hopes of a potential breakthrough in treating people with this currently incurable disorder, scientists said on Wednesday. The method, as part of the growing field of nanomedicine, worked releasing an anti-inflammatory medication directly into the active part of the brain compromised by tiny molecules known as cascade dendrimers. Rabbit kittens treated within six hours of live birth had a "dramatic improvement in motor function" on the fifth day of life, said the study's lead author, Sujatha Kannan, National Institute of Child Health and Research, Department of Perinatology and Human Development, in the United States. The study was published in the U.S. journal Science Translational Medicine. The rabbits that were born motionless because of infantile paralysis moved to "near normal levels on the fifth day," said an article accompanying the study, and was published in the same journal by pediatrician, Sidhartha Tan, of Chicago. The drug used was one commonly used to treat persons with acetaminophen poisoning, known as N-acetyl-L-cystine or … Continue reading →

A new treatment has helped rabbits born with cerebral palsy regain near-normal mobility, offering hope of a potential breakthrough in treating humans with the incurable disorder, researchers say. The method, part of the growing field of nanomedicine, works by delivering an anti-inflammatory drug directly into the damaged parts of the brain via tiny tree-like molecules known as dendrimers. Baby rabbits treated within six hours of birth showed 'dramatic improvement in the motor function' by the fifth day of life, said lead author Sujatha Kannan of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Perinatology Research Branch. The study appears in the US journal Science Translational Medicine. Rabbits who were born immobile due to cerebral palsy were moving around at 'almost... normal healthy levels by day five,' said an accompanying article in the same journal by Chicago pediatrician Sidhartha Tan. The drug used was one that is commonly used to treat people who overdose on acetaminophen, known as N-acetyl-L-cystine or NAC, and was given at a 10 times smaller amount. However, it was successful because the nanodelivery method allowed it to cross the blood-brain barrier and swiftly shut down inflammation in the brain. Kannan said her team used rabbits because, … Continue reading →

Study points to advance the treatment of cerebral palsy Rabbit kittens treated with a new drug had improvement in motor function A new treatment helped rabbits born with cerebral palsy to recover to an almost normal mobility, giving rise to hopes of a potential breakthrough in treating people with this currently incurable disorder, scientists said on Wednesday. The method, as part of the growing field of nanomedicine, worked releasing an anti-inflammatory medication directly into the active part of the brain compromised by tiny molecules known as cascade dendrimers. Rabbit kittens treated within six hours of live birth had a "dramatic improvement in motor function" on the fifth day of life, said the study's lead author, Sujatha Kannan, National Institute of Child Health and Research, Department of Perinatology and Human Development, in the United States. The study was published in the U.S. journal Science Translational Medicine. The rabbits that were born motionless because of infantile paralysis moved to "near normal levels on the fifth day," said an article accompanying the study, and was published in the same journal by pediatrician, Sidhartha Tan, of Chicago. The drug used was one commonly used to treat persons with acetaminophen poisoning, known as N-acetyl-L-cystine or … Continue reading →

It may be possible to treat cerebral palsy after birth with a new drug designed to target specific cells in the brain, a new study in animals suggests. In the study, rabbits with a cerebral palsy-like condition who were treated with the drug soon after birth showed substantial improvements in their ability move around, compared with rabbits not given the drug. Cerebral palsyis a group of disorders characterized by problems with movement, including difficulties with maintaining balance or posture. It is caused byinjury to the brainsustained either in the womb, shortly after birth, or within the first years of life. It is a lifelong disorder for which there is currently no cure. The new findings suggest that "there appears to be a window of opportunity for treatment, even after birth," said study researcher Dr. Sujatha Kannan, of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in Detroit. However, much more work is needed before researchers will know if the findings apply to people. And the researchers still don't know whether the improvements seen in the rabbits in the study will last over the long term. The study is published in the April 18 issue of … Continue reading →