The Burden Of Late Preterm Birth On Brain Development And 2 Year Outcomes – A Prospective, Longitudinal Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$838,690.00
Summary
80% of preterm babies are born from 32-36 weeks’ gestation, and are late preterm (LPT). LPT children have more learning problems, but why this occurs is unknown. This study aims to understand the effect of LPT birth on brain development. We will do brain scans at term and assess development at 2 years of age of 200 LPT and 200 full-term children. We expect LPT babies will have subtle alterations in brain development compared with term controls which will be associated with delayed development.
Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating bowel condition afflicting almost 1 in 10 of very preterm babies. About a third of babies with NEC do not survive. Currently, there is no cure. We propose the use of stem-like cells from the human placenta as a targeted therapy for NEC, working by minimising gut damage and accelerating gut repair.
Executive Dysfunction And Brain Development In Very Preterm 13-year-olds - A Longitudinal MRI Study.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$738,656.00
Summary
An area of concern for very preterm children is executive function (i.e. skills used for problem solving), which is related to educational problems, behavioural issues and social difficulties. In very preterm children this study will 1) determine if executive function problems remain stable, worsen, or improve with age; 2) look for markers for these problems from infant brain scans; and 3) examine how executive function difficulties are related to brain re-organisation.
Amniotic Exosomes - Nanomedicine For Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$647,058.00
Summary
Extremely premature babies are at serious risk of developing a life threatening chronic lung disease known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia. This is expensive to treat and even babies who survive often end up with lifelong complications. Our team believes that nanoparticles released by placental stem cells have the ability to reverse the disease and that this can be administered without complex medical tools so that parents can administer it themselves after discharge.
Lung, Heart And Respiratory Muscle Disease After Preterm Birth
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,328,858.00
Summary
Breathing problems persisting into infancy and later life is an important complication of premature birth with lifelong consequences. Breathing problems often occur together with lung disease, but prematurity can also affect heart and blood vessel development, and weakness of the main breathing muscle (the diaphragm). We will find out how much the heart and diaphragm contribute to breathing problems in babies, and will help us to better predict, diagnose and treat severe breathing problems.