Hypoxia is a key factor in brain damage in congenital heart disease

Most children with complex congenital heart disease have neurological and functional abnormalities such as brain developmental disorders, delayed brain maturation, and even brain damage. Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect. This child is not only dysfunctional in the heart, but also prone to central nervous system dysfunction such as behavior, thinking and learning. In the past, the survival rate of children with severe congenital heart disease was relatively low, and the problem of nerve damage in congenital heart disease was relatively unclear. With the improvement of treatments and treatment techniques for congenital heart disease, the survival rate of children with congenital heart disease is significantly improved, and the problem of central nervous system damage in congenital heart disease is becoming more and more prominent. Once the nervous system damage is caused, it is irreversible, so this problem is increasingly taken seriously by neonatology.

Hypoxia is a key factor in brain damage in congenital heart disease

The cellular basis of brain damage caused by congenital heart disease has not been very clear. A recent study from the University of Washington found that the number and function of neural stem cells caused by hypoxia in brain tissue may be caused by congenital heart disease. The key cause of injury, this discovery provides an important idea for the prevention and treatment of the disease. Caitlin Rollins, a child neurologist at Boston Children's Hospital, believes the results are very exciting and provides insight into the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this brain injury. She said that future use of drugs for pregnant women may block the process.