The University of California Children’s Hospital in San Francisco has opened a new department that focuses on the infant brain.
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It is the first facility of its kind in the United States. The department brings together specialized treatment for infants who show signs of brain damage at birth – and are at-risk for developing cerebral palsy, mental retardation and other cognitive disorders – with clinical research.
The new Neuro-Intensive Care Nursery (NICN) is a state-of-the-art newborn care unit designed to host clinical trials and bring the latest cutting-edge treatments to patients.
Newborn brain damage is the leading cause of mental retardation, developmental delay and cerebral palsy in the U.S., according to Rowitch. Among all babies born very prematurely, five to 15 percent go on to develop cerebral palsy, and 25 to 50 percent develop cognitive disorders or a learning disability. The cost of treating cerebral palsy alone exceeds $35 billion annually, according to the March of Dimes Foundation.
The opening of the NICN comes at an important time, as the last few decades have seen an increase in the number of infants who show signs of brain damage shortly after birth. This increase is primarily due to a corresponding increase in the survival rate of extremely premature infants – known to be much more susceptible to brain damage than full-term infants.
Although advanced neonatal care has enabled doctors to keep preterm infants alive, there is currently a lack of therapies that prevent or diminish brain damage in these cases. There is hope that the work done at the NICN will play an instrumental role in the development of new therapies for premature babies at high risk for brain damage.
