Study gains new insights into heart and lung conditions in babies born with Down Syndrome

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences conducted a study to discover how Down Syndrome babies’ lungs respond to changes in heart function and blood pressure.

Babies born with Down Syndrome often have heart and lung problems. This can lead to longer hospital stays and intensive care. This research will enable clinicians in Ireland to assess one out of 600 Down Syndrome infants each year.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. It is the first to follow Down Syndrome babies for the first two years of life to examine heart function and blood pressure. This study involved the collaboration of three neonatal intensive medical units in Dublin, Ireland. It included seventy Down Syndrome infants.

The research showed that babies with Down Syndrome had impaired heart function and blood pressure in their lungs for the first two years. Importantly, the study found no difference in heart function between babies with Down Syndrome and those without congenital heart disease. This is an important finding that should encourage all Down Syndrome babies to have their heart function monitored and their blood pressure checked during childhood.

This is the first time that there has been any evidence to support why Down Syndrome babies have these symptoms. This study shows that Down Syndrome babies experience altered heart function, which leads to higher blood pressure in their lungs.

Professor Afif El-Khuffash is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at RCSI. He also serves as a Consultant Neonatologist at The Rotunda Hospital.

Dr Aisling SMITH, a Neonatology Specialist Registeredar, was the first to publish the study. She commented, “This study will help clinicians understand the mechanisms that cause these problems and highlight how important it is to monitor heart function in babies born with Down Syndrome over the long-term.”

About half of Down Syndrome babies also have congenital hearts disease. This study found that 48 Down Syndrome babies had congenital hearts disease, while 22 others did not. The Down Syndrome results were compared to those of 60 healthy babies (controls). All the babies who participated in the study had to have a heart scan (echocardiogram), which assessed their heart function at six months and one year, as well as two years.

RCSI conducted the research in collaboration with the Rotunda, Coombe and National Maternity Hospitals of Dublin, as well as the Department of Paediatric Cardiology, Children’s Health at Crumlin Hospital, Dublin, and Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Trinity College Dublin, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

The Health Research Board Ireland funded the study, as well as the National Children’s Research Centre.