Fetal and Neonatal Stress Research

The goal of our research group is to better understand the transition from intra- to extra-uterine life and to examine therapeutic strategies against transition failure. The process of vaginal birth prepares the baby for the extra-uterine environment and, in comparison to babies delivered by elective cesarean section, confers respiratory, cardiovascular and immunological advantages to the newborn.

We investigate the role of stress hormones during birth, including vasopressin/copeptin, the causes and consequences of their release with a particular focus on breathing, weight changes and pain experience in the newborn. In the case of birth complications or premature delivery, e.g. a lack of oxygen (hypoxia-ischemia) can damage the brain owing to long-lasting neurodevelopmental disabilities. Total body hypothermia commenced shortly after birth is an effective therapy to alleviate neuronal damage after perinatal hypoxia-ischemia but the underlying molecular mechanisms of cold protection are poorly understood. Here we concentrate on the two cold-inducible proteins RBM3 and CIRP, which are involved in neuroplasticity and inflammation.

A second strategy for neuroprotection is the administration of erythropoietin. In an international multicenter randomized trial, enrolling preterm neonates with intraventricular hemorrhage or hemorrhagic parenchymal infarction, we test the effect of high-dose erythropoietin on neurodevelopmental outcome (www.eporepair.ch). Our studies are performed in close collaboration with other research groups of the UKBB, with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Prof. Lapaire) and the Department of Biomedicine (Prof. Guzman) of the University Hospital Basel, the Biozentrum (Prof. Kapfhammer) of the University of Basel, and the Universities of Zurich (PD Dr. Burkhardt) and Oxford (Prof. Slater).