Technologies

Assessing fetal or neonatal haptoglobin levels to determine risk for cerebral palsy

Predicting children at risk for cerebral palsy allows physicians to prioritize interventions to prevent additional damage, but there are currently no good strategies to do this. Researchers at Nationwide Children's have found that newborns unable to switch on haptoglobin expression when exposed to stress are at risk for cerebral palsy. They have developed a diagnostic application that assesses fetal or neonatal haptoglobin levels in order to determine which patients should receive interventions, including those aimed to elevate haptoglobin levels.