Acid Reflux Drug- a new treatment option for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: Study
Researchers in China have discovered in a new study that histamine H2 receptor blockers common acid reflux drugs may be a new treatment option for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.It may turn out to be a potential way to prevent a lack of oxygen or blood flow from causing long-lasting brain damage in newborn children.
The study has been published September 29 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM).
The research suggests that targeting the histamine H2 receptor with drugs already used to treat acid reflux in infants could help newborns recover from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a condition that affects over 1 in 1,000 live births and can cause life-long neurological disabilities.
HIE can develop during pregnancy or from complications during labor and delivery. Premature infants also have a high risk of the disorder, in which disruptions to the oxygen and blood supply damage the brain's white matter, primarily composed of fat-producing oligodendrocytes that insulate and protect the brain's nerve cells. This can cause severe and long-lasting neurological disabilities, including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and cognitive impairment. Researchers suspect that some of these symptoms could be alleviated if oligodendrocyte precursor cells could be prompted to form new oligodendrocytes capable of restoring the lost white matter.
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