Babies who suffer severe oxygen deprivation at birth have a better chance of avoiding brain damage if their temperature is lowered, research spearheaded by a Maltese doctor has found.

The research, headed by Malta-trained neonatologist Denis Azzopardi, found that the cooling therapy reduced the risk of brain damage by 57 per cent, compared with standard treatment.

After 18 months, 44 per cent of infants whose tiny bodies were kept 3-4°C lower than normal for 72 hours survived without any neurological abnormalities as opposed to 28 per cent of babies who were not given such therapy. The babies treated with cooling also scored better for mental and motor development.

However, mortality rates were not significantly different between the two groups.

Normally, babies suffering from asphyxia at birth are put in an incubator, where they are kept warm and helped to breathe through a ventilator. As part of the cooling therapy babies were wrapped in a special mattress in which cold water was pumped.

The Total Body Hypothermia for Neonatal Encephalopathy Trial study was based on 20 years of research in which Dr Azzopardi was actively involved.

The 58-year-old doctor, originally from San Ġwann, explained that some degree of oxygen deprivation was normal during birth. However, complications, like a detached placenta, bleeding or a compressed umbilical cord, could exacerbate the oxygen deprivation.

Dr Azzopardi said the majority of babies recovered but between 20 and 25 per cent might get into trouble and suffer from some form of brain damage.

When the blood was restored, the brain cells were progressively damaged and eventually stopped functioning. But cooling the baby by a few degrees stopped this harmful chemical process, allowing cells that were not irreparably damaged to heal.

Dr Azzopardi said the babies coped well with the lower temperature, adding that these infants were very sick and many of them were not conscious. The treatment needed to start within six hours of birth with the lower temperature maintained for 72 hours before the infant was gradually warmed up.

More than 300 babies took part in the study, the findings of which were published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study was held between 2002 and 2006.

It is estimated that one baby in every 500 suffers from oxygen deprivation in developed countries. Although local statistics do not record perinatal asphyxia, 17 term babies experienced a respiratory condition or a low Apgar score, both included in the definition of perinatal asphyxia, in 2008. One infant died in the first month of life.

Dr Azzopardi said many doctors were already using the cooling technique because there was very little that could be done for such very sick babies.

The results of the study are now being analysed by Britain's National Institute of Clinical Excellence, which will decide whether this procedure should become standard practice across British hospitals.

The news was welcomed by the chairman of Mater Dei Hospital's paediatric department, Simon Attard Montalto who said the results looked very promising when the pre-publication preview of the study was presented in Malta last May.

"Now that there is clear evidence for the benefits of cooling in asphyxiated newborns, many units will be seeking to look into setting up this facility in their own unit, including ourselves," he said.

He emphasised that, although cooling has shown a benefit, it was not a magic cure and there were still high risks attached to birth asphyxia.