Prevention of cerebral palsy

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 NAC, and was given in a dose 10 times lower.

However, it was successful because the nano-delivery method allowed it to cross the blood-brain barrier, immediately disabling inflammation in the brain.

Kannan said that his team used rabbits and guinea pigs because, like humans, part of their brains develop before and after birth, while most other animals are born with their motor skills already formed.

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Prevention of cerebral palsy