Reproduced with the permissions of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, USA : GE107/07
Premature
Babies Feel Pain
From
News & Views, 4-20-06
Premature
babies can actually feel pain and are
not just displaying a reflex reaction
to a stimulus, a team of doctors and scientists
said. Using brain scans of tiny babies
born as early as 24 weeks after conception
they found that during routine procedures
such as obtaining a blood sample from
a heel they feel pain.
Until now, information about pain in premature
babies has been limited to physical expressions
such as flinching or crunching the face.
But Professor Maria Fitzgerald, of University
College London said it has been difficult
for researchers to interpret the significance
of those reactions, which can also be
triggered by something like a loud noise.
Using near-infrared spectroscopy, which
measures blood levels and oxygenation
in the brain, Fitzgerald and her team
recorded activity in the brains of 18
premature babies born between 23-45 weeks
from conception as nurses performed routine
blood tests using a heel lance. The scans
showed pain information was being processed
in the brain. Because it has been difficult
to measure pain in very tiny babies, treatment
to relieve it has been sub-optimal, according
to Fitzgerald, who reported the findings
in The Journal of Neuroscience. "Now that
we have this scientific, objective measure
of pain, we'll be able to assess pain-relieving!
therapies much more precisely," she said.
Exactly when the so-called "pain pathways"
in the brain begin to develop is not certain
but scientists estimate between weeks
23 and 30. Fitzgerald added that understanding
and processing pain is something that
is learned over a long period of time.
The sensitivity to pain in the babies
in the study increased as they grew. Fitzgerald
said there is a possibility that because
pain information is getting into their
immature brains, which are still developing,
it could change their response to pain
later in life. "It is certainly something
we need to be aware of. It is another
good reason for treating the pain and
alleviating it at this very early stage
when they are so vulnerable," she added.
Jean Wright, MD, Executive Director
of Egelston Children's Hospital: "The
premature infant has yet again made a
major contribution to our understanding
of pain in the fetus. By using near infra-red
spectroscopy, one of the world's most
esteemed researchers in the development
of pain, Dr. Maria Fitzgerald, has again
convincingly demonstrated that the premature
infant can perceive pain and it's pain
can be measured objectively and scientifically.
This information, if produced from studies
on adults, would drive us to find better
ways to manage their pain.
Yet, what will this elegant study do to
protect the unborn or premature infant
from pain? Given the current climate to
hide the truth from women seeking abortions,
probably, sadly nothing."
Patricia Reaney. "Study Shows
Premature Babies can Feel Pain." Reuters.
April 4, 2006.
2. Drive to cut fraudulent research
Source Link: http://www.cmda.org/index.cgi?CONTEXT=art&art=3138&BISKIT=2998475582
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