Andrew G. L. Whitelaw

Andrew G. L. Whitelaw (born 31 August 1946) is a British neonatologist and academic, known for his work on treating conditions affecting newborn babies. He holds the position of Emeritus Professor at Bristol Medical School, associated with Bristol Neuroscience.^[1]

Whitelaw is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He also served as the president of the Neonatal Society.^[2]

Whitelaw research has over 15,553 citations across 9,919 documents. Additionally, his h-index stands at 61.

Early life

Whitelaw was born in West Fife, Scotland to Robert and Cicely Whitelaw.^[3]

Whitelaw received early education at Commercial Primary School.^[3]

Research

Intraventricular Haemorrhage (IVH) and Hydrocephalus in Premature Babies

One of Whitelaw's notable findings is the efficacy of ventricular lavage in reducing brain injury and disability in post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Ventricular lavage removes toxic substances, such as free iron and pro-inflammatory cytokines, released by old blood.^[4][5][6]

Hypoxic-Ischaemic Injury in Full-Term Babies

Whitelaw's research has involved prevention and treatment of hypoxic-ischaemic injury in full-term newborns. He has been one of the pioneers developing and testing cooling by only a few degrees as a therapeutic approach for neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. This intervention (therapeutic hypothermia) has been shown to improve the odds of survival without neurological impairment at 18 months of age.^[7][8][9]

Awards

• Raymond Horton-Smith Prize for the best medical thesis of the year (1978).
• President of the Neonatal Society (2006)
• Elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (2016)

Selected publications

• Whitelaw, Andrew; Jary, Sally; Kmita, Grazyna; Wroblewska, Jolanta; Musialik-Swietlinska, Ewa; Mandera, Marek; Hunt, Linda; Carter, Michael; Pople, Ian (1 April 2010). "Randomized Trial of Drainage, Irrigation and Fibrinolytic Therapy for Premature Infants with Posthemorrhagic Ventricular Dilatation: Developmental Outcome at 2 years". Pediatrics. 125 (4): e852–e858. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-1960.
• Gluckman, Peter D; Wyatt, John S; Azzopardi, Denis; Ballard, Roberta; Edwards, A David; Ferriero, Donna M; Polin, Richard A; Robertson, Charlene M; Thoresen, Marianne; Whitelaw, Andrew; Gunn, Alistair J (February 2005). "Selective head cooling with mild systemic hypothermia after neonatal encephalopathy: multicentre randomised trial". The Lancet. 365 (9460): 663–670. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)17946-X.
• Azzopardi, Denis V.; Strohm, Brenda; Edwards, A. David; Dyet, Leigh; Halliday, Henry L.; Juszczak, Edmund; Kapellou, Olga; Levene, Malcolm; Marlow, Neil; Porter, Emma; Thoresen, Marianne; Whitelaw, Andrew; Brocklehurst, Peter (October 2009). "Moderate Hypothermia to Treat Perinatal Asphyxial Encephalopathy". New England Journal of Medicine. 361 (14): 1349–1358. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0900854.
• Azzopardi, Denis; Strohm, Brenda; Marlow, Neil; Brocklehurst, Peter; Deierl, Aniko; Eddama, Oya; Goodwin, Julia; Halliday, Henry L.; Juszczak, Edmund; Kapellou, Olga; Levene, Malcolm; Linsell, Louise; Omar, Omar; Thoresen, Marianne; Tusor, Nora; Whitelaw, Andrew; Edwards, A. David (10 July 2014). "Effects of Hypothermia for Perinatal Asphyxia on Childhood Outcomes". New England Journal of Medicine. 371 (2): 140–149. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1315788.
• Edwards, A D.; Brocklehurst, P.; Gunn, A. J; Halliday, H.; Juszczak, E.; Levene, M.; Strohm, B.; Thoresen, M.; Whitelaw, A.; Azzopardi, D. (9 February 2010). "Neurological outcomes at 18 months of age after moderate hypothermia for perinatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy: synthesis and meta-analysis of trial data". BMJ. 340 (feb09 3): c363–c363. doi:10.1136/bmj.c363. PMC 2819259.
• Draycott, Timothy J.; Crofts, Joanna F.; Ash, Jonathan P.; Wilson, Louise V.; Yard, Elaine; Sibanda, Thabani; Whitelaw, Andrew (July 2008). "Improving Neonatal Outcome Through Practical Shoulder Dystocia Training". Obstetrics & Gynecology. 112 (1): 14–20. doi:10.1097/AOG.0b013e31817bbc61.
• Draycott, Tim; Sibanda, Thabani; Owen, Louise; Akande, Valentine; Winter, Cathy; Reading, Sandra; Whitelaw, Andrew (February 2006). "Does training in obstetric emergencies improve neonatal outcome?". BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 113 (2): 177–182. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2006.00800.x.
• Miall-Allen, V M; de Vries, L S; Whitelaw, A G (1 October 1987). "Mean arterial blood pressure and neonatal cerebral lesions". Archives of Disease in Childhood. 62 (10): 1068–1069. doi:10.1136/adc.62.10.1068. PMC 1778679.

References

1. "Professor Andrew Whitelaw". University of Bristol.
2. "expert reaction to study looking at paracetamol in pregnancy and behaviour, memory and IQ in children | Science Media Centre". Science Media Centre.
3. "New book lifts lid on Dunfermline childhood in 1950s". Dunfermline Press. 14 May 2023.
4. "Surgical technique for premature babies with brain haemorrhage reduces long-term disability". News-Medical. 6 July 2020.
5. "July: DRIFT10-study". University of Bristol.
6. "Intraventricular haemorrhage and posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus: pathogenesis, prevention and future interventions". Seminars in Fetal and Neonatal Medicine.
7. "Assessment of brain tissue injury after moderate hypothermia in neonates with hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy: a nested substudy of a randomised controlled trial". Lancet Neurology. 1 January 2010. pp. 39–45. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(09)70295-9.
8. "2010: Clinical Science at North Bristol | News and features | University of Bristol". University of Bristol.
9. "Time Course of Brainstem Pathophysiology during First Month in Term Infants after Perinatal Asphyxia, Revealed by MLS BAER Latencies and Intervals". Pediatric Research. November 2003. pp. 680–687. doi:10.1203/01.PDR.0000084084.62571.12.