Brain, Immunity and Psychopathology following very Preterm Birth(BIPP)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Brain, Immunity and Psychopathology following very Preterm Birth (BIPP)
IRAS ID
266649
Contact name
Chiara Nosarti
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Approximately 25% of very preterm children have persisting psychiatric problems, such as inattention, anxiety and socio-emotional problems, with a gestational age-related gradient risk of severity, that increases as gestational age decreases. Furthermore, very preterm children have elevated rates of sub-threshold psychiatric symptoms that may impact on their quality of life and on the establishment of peer relationships. Yet, the fact that these symptoms often do not meet diagnostic criteria prevents these children from receiving appropriate support.
Although existing evidence suggests that very preterm birth may lay on the causal pathway to the development of psychopathology, the exact biological mechanisms underlying this association are poorly understood. Specifically, we still do not know 1) how structural and functional brain alterations associated with very preterm birth increase the risk of developing psychopathology; 2) whether perinatal inflammation, a critical mechanism for regulating macroscopic and microscopic brain structure alterations in response to stress, programmes a persistent inflammatory state that contributes to altering brain development and increasing preterm individuals’ psychopathology risk and 3) whether there are specific neurodevelopmental trajectories from birth to childhood that can help identifying those children who are most vulnerable to psychopathology, in order to develop preventative interventions.
This is a single centre study recruiting 9 year old children who were born prematurely and took part in the eprime study (REC: 09/H0707/98) , and a group of age-matched controls. All participants will be asked to undergo neuropsychological assessments and interviews, an MRI scan, and to provide a single blood and saliva sample as part of the study. Parents will also be asked to complete behavioural assessments for their child.REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1940
Date of REC Opinion
13 Feb 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion