ALPACAS - ALtering Persistent inflammation And outcomes in children at high risk of Cerebral pAlSy

The ALPACAS project aims to improve the health and quality of life of children and adults with cerebral palsy (CP). It will bring together a national and international team of researchers, clinicians and people with CP, to better understand the condition and improve care throughout life. The project focuses on how inflammation and organ dysfunction affects people with CP from birth to adulthood.

Participants will include adults with CP, children with CP and newborns at high risk of CP. The study will measure how severely multiple organs are affected across the lifespan and explore how this impacts daily life and wellbeing. This will be achieved by combining clinical information, neuroimaging, genetic data and biological markers. We aim to also use this data to better understand the causes of CP.

Blood samples will be acquired from patients with CP to study patterns of inflammation and organ dysfunction across the lifespan. Targeted therapies to treat CP will be tested on these blood samples.

The ALPACAS project hopes to establish specialised lifespan clinics that improve care, treatment and support for people living with cerebral palsy.

Funder

HRB

Research Team & Collaborators

P.I: Prof. Eleanor Molloy

Lead investigator: Dr. Ailbhe Murphy

Co-investigators: Dr. Lynne Kelly, Dr. Johana Isaza-Correa, Prof. Denise McDonald, Dr. Michelle Spirtos

Collaborators: Prof. Colin Doherty, Dr. Elisabeth Doran, Dr. Janna Kenny, Dr. Nathalie Maitre, Dr. Maria Stack, Dr. Orla Franklin, Dr. Arun Bokde, Dr. Arthur White, Dr. Ann Hickey, Dr. Jason Wyse, Ms. Jennifer Ryan, Dr. Judith Meehan