Common headache drug could change the lives of underweight babies – The Age

Medical researchers believe they have discovered a simple way to improve the lives of babies born extremely underweight.

Pre-clinical trials conducted by researchers from the University of Queensland have found that a small dose of ibuprofen, the active ingredient in over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs such as Nurofen, could have an immediate positive effect.

Babies born in the lowest percentile for size could benefit from simple ibuprofen, research suggests.Credit:iStock

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a condition that affects between 5 and 12 per cent of babies born in Australia every year.

Babies can be born premature or full term, but for a range of reasons have not developed fully in the womb, and have been born very small.

No specific treatment exists for IUGR, and children with the condition face developmental challenges especially around brain development, often developing learning difficulties and in extreme cases cerebral palsy.

Dr Julie Wixey from UQs Centre for Clinical Research said their work had shown great promise in administering small doses of ibuprofen in the first three days after birth.

Were seeing that theres a reduction in inflammation in the brain - inflammation is associated with injury to the brain, Dr Wixey said.

So when weve reduced the inflammation, weve reduced the brain injury.

Ibuprofen is used to help treat children with certain heart defects, but this is the first time researchers have identified a general health benefit from the anti-inflammatory drug for babies with IUGR.

Dr Wixey said they had just received funding from the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital to look at the outcomes data for two years after birth.

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The next step would be to take the research to a full clinical trial.

You never want to give something to a baby unnecessarily, so we need to make sure theres no adverse outcomes from this, because very small babies are quite vulnerable, Dr Wixey said.

But this is really exciting, the preliminary results look fantastic and all the data is looking good, so I really hope it goes to clinical trials and we have good outcomes so we can help these babies.

The research has been published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.

Dr Wixey recently presented the research as a Queensland finalist in the 2019 Fresh Science Competition, winning the Peoples Award for the best public presentation of her research within a minute.

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Stuart Layt covers health, science and technology for the Brisbane Times. He was formerly the Queensland political reporter for AAP.

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Common headache drug could change the lives of underweight babies - The Age