Brain injury haemorrhage 'can be toxic in infants'RSS Feed

Infant brain injury may be a risk after a haemorrhage, according to new research, with fluid inside ventricles shown to be potentially toxic.

A large haemorrhage usually causes brain injury in infants born very early, in whom bleeding in the brain's central ventricles is common.

Researchers led by professor of neonatal medicine at the University of Bristol Andrew Whitelaw and neurosurgeon Ian Pople have shown that a new technique known as drainage, irrigation and fibrinolytic therapy (Drift) is capable of treating large brain haemorrhages.

Mr Pople said: "This is the first time that any treatment anywhere in the world has been shown to benefit these very vulnerable babies.

"This treatment is now called "ventricular lavage" and it is hoped that in the very near future it will be set up as a service at Southmead Hospital in Bristol."

The findings follow research by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which showed that prion disease can damage the brain's arteries in mice, leading to brain injury.

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