Families of brain-injured children can find out more about leading research being funded by the charity Cerebra, which is taking place in Aberdeen.
Two free talks are being held at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital to give the public an insight into studies currently underway which aim to give more of an insight into, and hopefully go some way to prevent, brain injury and other neurological conditions in infants.
Approximately 650,000 new babies are born in the UK every year and research suggests that one in four has some sort of neurological problem. This can manifest itself in a number of conditions such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, learning difficulties, attention deficit, behavioural and emotional problems or developmental delay.
Cerebra, for brain injured children and young people, funds research projects at hospitals and universities across Britain which are investigating the prevention, detection, early diagnosis, subsequent treatment, therapy and management of paediatric neurological disorders.
The charity has given significant funding to the University of Aberdeen.
An insight into two new studies will be given at the public lecture taking place on Thursday, June 30, at the McGillivray Centre at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital at 7.30pm.
Dr John Dean, Honorary Reader at the University of Aberdeen, and Consultant in Clinical Genetics at NHS Grampian, will discuss whether there may be links between epilepsy, autism and genetics.
Dr Mike Munro, Consultant Neonatologist, Head of Newborn Services at NHS Grampian, will discuss Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research and how it can be applied to study disease processes in newborns.
David Williams, Head of Research at Cerebra, said: “I’m delighted that these esteemed professionals have agreed to make this effort for Cerebra.
“We feel that it is vital that these kind interactions take place between families, carers, and health professionals.
“As well as hearing from these two speakers there will be the opportunity to ask all kinds of questions.
“Often we hear from Cerebra members that when they went along to medical consultations they didn’t have time to ask questions – or they didn’t think about them until afterwards.
“Anyone with a child or who cares for a child with a brain injury or neurological condition is invited to come along to this public lecture.”
Any member of the public wishing information about the talks can call Cerebra on 0800 328 1159.