How low oxygen from a mother's sleep apnea may affect a baby's brain before birth
Mechanisms of Hypoxia-Mediated Disturbances in Cerebral Maturation in a Fetal Ovine Model of Maternal Sleep Apnea
['FUNDING_R01'] · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · NIH-11245749
Researchers are using a sheep model to learn how brief drops in oxygen during a mother's sleep apnea can change a baby's brain before birth.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_R01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (PORTLAND, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11245749 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
If you're pregnant, the team uses pregnant sheep to mimic the short, repeated low-oxygen episodes that happen with sleep apnea and measures oxygen in the unborn baby's brain with safe light-based monitoring. They focus on the fetal hippocampus, a brain area important for learning and memory, to look for cell injury, inflammation, and damage to white matter. The researchers also examine nerve cell branches and tiny connection points, and record how brain cells fire and form signals that underlie learning. Together these steps aim to link late-pregnancy low-oxygen episodes to possible lasting changes in learning and memory after birth.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: This work is most relevant to pregnant people in the third trimester who have sleep-disordered breathing or known sleep apnea.
Not a fit: People who are not pregnant or whose sleep problems do not cause repeated low-oxygen episodes are unlikely to benefit directly from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal how maternal sleep apnea harms fetal brain development and point to ways to prevent or treat those effects in babies.
How similar studies have performed: Previous animal studies suggest repeated low-oxygen episodes can harm fetal brain development, but detailed links to later learning problems and the exact mechanisms remain under study.
Where this research is happening
PORTLAND, UNITED STATES
- OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY — PORTLAND, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: BACK, STEPHEN ARTHUR — OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- Study coordinator: BACK, STEPHEN ARTHUR
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.