Choline supplements to protect babies' brains when mothers drink heavily
Fetal Neuroprotection by choline supplementation in heavy drinking pregnant women
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 ID | NIH-11405027 on NIH RePORTER |
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.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: 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.
Not a fit: 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.
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 performed: 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
Boston, United States
- 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
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 below.