WINTHROP NEONATOLOGIST AWARDED $2.186 MILLION FOR PULMONARY RESEARCH ON INFANTS
Mineola, New York: Winthrop neonatologist Jonathan Davis, MD and a team of scientific researchers he directs in Winthrop's CardioPulmonary Research Institute (CPRI), have been awarded major grants for their ground breaking research to prevent lung problems in premature infants. The infants are in serious danger of developing lifelong pulmonary and neurological damage.
Dr. Davis, Winthrop's Director of Neonatology and Newborn Medicine, who is also the Director of the Hospital's CardioPulmonary Research Institute, recently concluded a comprehensive trial of the beneficial effects of an antioxidant protein, superoxide dismutase, on the lungs of premature babies. The apparent success of the trial has generated enough interest and enthusiasm at the National Institute of Health (NIH) to merit an additional grant of $2.186 million to proceed with the next component of the study. This funding also derives from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
The new study, with Dr. Davis as Principal Investigator, will be conducted primarily at Winthrop, in conjunction with research teams from the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University, through June 30, 2005.
The first trial, a 20-site national study, coordinated by Dr. Davis, showed that the delivery of superoxide dismutase into the lungs of premature infants provided protection. This protein, normally produced in healthy lungs, can now be constituted in the laboratory. Lung and brain problems have been significantly decreased in premature babies who received the protein soon after birth. The babies were followed closely through their first year of life, and appeared to demonstrate improved pulmonary and neurological outcome. In addition to helping to prevent neurological abnormalities, the treatment helps prevent chronic lung problems such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia and asthma.
"The new grant enables our team to research and further refine methods to more perfectly formulate superoxide dismutase in the laboratory; to develop better ways to deliver it to the infants' lungs; and to improve the ways in which it works."
Additionally, Dr. Davis has been named Principal Investigator, and recipient of $125,000, for further studies of CC10. CC10 is the shorthand name of the Clara cell protein, also normally produced in a healthy lung, which is now made in the laboratories of Claragen, Inc., a biotechnical corporation. In cases where the Clara cell protein is deficient in premature babies, the recombinant Clara cell, CC10, can be introduced into the lungs.
"It is now possible to combine more than one artificially produced protein in the treatment of premature babies' lungs," Dr. Davis explained. "The Winthrop CPRI research team experiments with various combinations of superoxide dismutase, CC10, and other emerging proteins, to determine the best regimen for each patient. Combining recombinant proteins is safe and effective."
As Dr. Davis' international stature has grown, he has been invited to address several worldwide seminars. Among them were the NATO Advanced Study Institute in Corfu, Greece, and in July, the Vatican Children's Hospital in Rome, the Ospedeli Pediatrico Bambino de Jesu.
"Winthrop is proud to lead the development of recombinant proteins that will become the standard of care in the future," concluded Dr. Davis.
For more information, call Dr. Davis at (516) 663-3853.
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