Choline supplements to protect babies' brains when mothers drink heavily
Official title: Fetal Neuroprotection by choline supplementation in heavy drinking pregnant women
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11405027 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Giving extra choline to pregnant women who drink heavily to help protect their babies' brain development.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $262,442 |
| NIH project number | 3R01AA030014-03S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11405027 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant women who report heavy alcohol use during pregnancy (and their newborns), especially those able to enroll at participating clinics in the Western Cape, are the intended participants.
✕Less likely to help
Women who do not drink heavily during pregnancy, non-pregnant individuals, or older children are not the target population and are unlikely to receive benefit from this intervention.
What this research studies
If I were a pregnant woman who drinks heavily, I would be randomly given either high-dose choline or a placebo during pregnancy and my baby would be followed through the first year. This project builds on a large double-blind randomized trial of 288 women in the Western Cape and adds newborn brain imaging, including anatomical scans, diffusion (connectivity) imaging, and metabolic spectroscopic imaging. The researchers will compare brain images, growth, and early developmental tests between babies whose mothers took choline and those who took placebo. The imaging is intended to show how choline might change brain structure, connectivity, and energy metabolism in infants exposed to alcohol before birth.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, maternal choline could lessen alcohol-related brain and developmental harm and improve infant growth and early cognitive outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: A prior preliminary study by this team found that high-dose maternal choline improved infant growth, cognitive development, and some neonatal brain measures, but large-scale neuroimaging confirmation is still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Van Der Kouwe, Andre Jan Willem — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Van Der Kouwe, Andre Jan Willem
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Choline for fetal brain protection in pregnant women who drink heavily
Giving choline to pregnant women who drink heavily may help protect the baby’s brain and improve early development.
-
Mentor Moms+: a community-led plan to cut alcohol use and HIV risk during pregnancy in South Africa
A community-based program adapts a trusted peer-led model to help pregnant and lactating people reduce alcohol use and HIV risk in South Africa.
-
Smartphone app helps pregnant women in Ghana monitor blood pressure at home
A smartphone app is being customized for pregnant women in Ghana to support home blood pressure monitoring and improve safety during pregnancy.
-
Game-based mobile app to help pregnant women with overweight/obesity manage weight in Nepal
A new app designed for pregnant women in Nepal with overweight or obesity to help manage weight gain during pregnancy and reduce weight retention after birth.
-
Integrated biomarker study of metabolic syndrome in pregnant women with HIV on DTG-based ART
Researchers will look for biological signs in pregnant women with HIV on a DTG-based regimen to understand why weight gain and metabolic problems happen and how these affect pregnancy.
-
Biomarker profiling to understand metabolic syndrome in pregnant women with HIV on DTG-based ART
This project looks at why some pregnant women living with HIV on a common DTG-based therapy gain weight or develop metabolic problems, by studying their proteins and metabolites across four sites in the US and Nigeria.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.