Steroid damage to premature babiesApril 15, 2004Children born very prematurely who are treated with corticosteroids to prevent and treat chronic lung disease, are showing impaired cognitive ability at age seven years compared with those given no such treatment. These are the findings of Trevor Wilson, Dr Chris McCusker and Dr Nichola Rooney of the Royal Hospital, Belfast. They will present their findings today, Thursday 15 April 2004, at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference at Imperial College, London. The researchers looked at 77 premature children who were treated with postnatal steroids and compared them to 66 children who were not so treated, they also had a control group of 25 full term siblings of the premature children. The children were assessed on eight areas of cognitive ability, and the researchers found that the children treated with steroids performed less well than those who were not treated. However, corticosteroids have been found to be an effective measure for the prevention and treatment of chronic lung disease, a common problem in premature infants. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Science Research Departments
Earth Science Alternative Energy | Anthropology and Archaeology | Earthquakes and Volcanoes | Environment and Nature News | Global Warming | High-Energy and Particle Physics | Ozone Hole | Scientists Slow Light | Tsunami Space Science Astronomy and Space News | Black Holes | Chandra X-Ray Observatory | Extrasolar Planets | Hubble Telescope | International Space Station | Jupiter Galileo Mission | Jupiter Cassini Mission Flyby | Mars Exploration | Mars Odyssey 2001 | Mars Global Surveyor | Mars Polar Lander | Mars Climate Orbiter | Mars Pathfinder | Meteors and Asteroids | Mir Space Station | NEAR Asteroid Probe Mission | Pluto Planet Debate | Search for Extraterrestrial Life | Space Shuttle Program | Space Shuttle Mission: STS-102 | Space Weather Life Science Animal News | Biotechnology and Genetics | Brain Research | Human Cloning | Dinosaur and Fossil Discoveries | Endangered Species | Gene Therapy | Genetically Modified Food | Stem Cell Research | Whales and Whaling |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||