About the seminar
Severe lack of oxygen to the brain around the time of birth, occurs in 1-6 per 1,000 term-born infants. Reduced oxygen delivery often causes death or permanent brain injury leading to cerebral palsy and/or cognitive impairment. I led laboratory research in Oslo in the nineties revealing that post-hypoxic cooling reduced brain injury in newborn pigs and rats, and followed this with internationals clinical trials after my move to the UK, which demonstrated reduced incidence and severity of neurological abnormality in cooled groups. Cooling became the standard of care across the developed world in 2010. In parallel with ongoing clinical trials, we investigated added effect and new mechanisms by combining therapeutic hypothermia with other treatments after my return to Oslo in 2011.