4MyChild: Help and Hope for Life

February 26, 2007

Vaccine to Prevent Cerebral Palsy?

This discovery could affect as many as 45,000 children a year. Research lead by Dr. Mark Schleiss, Professor of Pediatrics, and Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota suggests that the Cytomegalovirus Or CMV virus can cause many birth defects including cerebral palsy, developmental disability and deafness. The virus affects pregnant women and can cause damage to their unborn babies.

Cytomegalovirus is commonly found and is part of the herpes family of viruses. CMV infects between 50 to 80 percent of all U.S. adults by age 40. There is no cure for it and there are rarely symptoms.

About 10 to 15 percent of newborns with congenital CMV end up with a long-term disability like developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy and deafness. CMV also can damage the placenta, leading to miscarriage.

Research is now being done in labs on guinea pigs to find a vaccine, and results have been promising. The vaccine helps stop the infection from crossing the placenta and infecting unborn babies. The virus is often undetected in pregnant women and the vaccine is given before pregnancy.

Studies on humans are set to begin shortly.