UOS aids research on promising drug to reduce newborn brain injury

This condition, medically known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, is one of the leading causes of long-term motor and cognitive disabilities in infants. Current treatment options remain limited, relying mainly on therapeutic hypothermia, which does not provide sufficient protection.

The study, published in Neurotherapeutics in June 2025, demonstrated the effectiveness of a new experimental compound called BRT_002, a purine derivative, in reducing brain damage in an animal model that mimics oxygen and blood deprivation in newborns.

The University of Sharjah team included Professor Rifat Hamoudi, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics at the College of Medicine; Dr Rania Harati, Associate Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the College of Pharmacy; and Dr Amal Bouzid, Researcher in Bioengineering, Bioinformatics and Human Genetics at the Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences.

The project was carried out in collaboration with researchers from France, the United States, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and several international scientific institutions.

The findings showed that administering the compound to newborn animal models with hypoxic-ischemic injury led to a marked reduction in brain damage, along with improvements in biomarkers related to neuronal function and cellular energy. Proteomic analyses also revealed increases in proteins such as Agrin, Zyxin and Synaptotagmin-5, which may play a role in protecting neurons or repairing damaged brain cells.

These results remain within the scope of preclinical research, as the experiments were conducted on animal models and laboratory cells, and not yet on humans. Any future therapeutic application of this compound will therefore require additional years of research and clinical trials to confirm its safety and effectiveness. While still at an early stage, the study opens promising new avenues for developing effective treatments to protect newborns from brain injury caused by hypoxia and ischemia.