Hormones Help Protect Developmental Issues in Premature Babies

Premature babies are at risk for certain physical and mental developmental issues.

Now, recent findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) have found that the hormone erythropoietin (EPO), which has been used illegally by athletes to boost their performance, could help to protect the brains of newborns if given directly after birth.

"We found that the brains of the children who had received the treatment had much less damage than those in the control group, who had been given a placebo," said Dr Russia Ha-Vinh Leuchter, co-researcher of the study, via BBC News. "This is the first time that the beneficial effect of the EPO hormone on the brains of premature babies has been shown."

The hormone works by triggering red blood cell production. The synthetic version of the hormone is currently used to treat numerous health conditions, including anemia, and can also be given to premature infants to help reduce their need for blood transfusions that may be essential to prevent the development of certain health issues.

For the study, researchers examined 495 infants who were born between 26 and 31 weeks. They were born before reaching week 32 and had an increased risk of brain damage as many were not fully developed. Two of the groups were also randomly assigned.

From the sample, 256 received recombinant human EPO while the remaining 239 were placed in the placebo group. EPO was given intravenously three hours before at 12 to 18 hours and then 36 to 42 hours after birth.

Findings revealed lower rates of injury in the EPO groups via the brain's white matter in comparison to the infants in the control groups at 22 percent versus 36 percent. The EPO group also had lower rates of injury to the brain's grey matter when compared to the placebo group.

Researchers hope that future studies will help identify new treatments that can prevent premature babies from developing certain health issues.