Can a liquid Erectile-Dysfunction drug help repair Newborns' brains after oxygen starvation?
NCT ID NCT04169191
First seen Sep 15, 2026 · Last updated Sep 16, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
When a baby is deprived of oxygen around birth, doctors cool the body to limit brain damage, but some infants still suffer lasting injury. This early-stage trial tests whether adding oral sildenafil, a drug that widens blood vessels, can further protect or repair the brain. Researchers will give increasing doses to a small group of newborns already receiving cooling therapy, watching for serious side effects like low blood pressure while measuring how the drug moves through the body. The goal is to find the highest dose that babies can tolerate safely.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- sildenafil, given as an oral liquid
- What this could lead to
- If it works, sildenafil could become a new add-on treatment to help newborns with brain injury from birth asphyxia, beyond the cooling therapy used today.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early Phase 1 trial in only 20 babies, so its main goal is to find a safe dose, not to prove benefit. Sildenafil can lower blood pressure, which is a particular concern in sick newborns.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
-
20 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
Sep 2019
- Finished
-
Oct 2025
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
0 to 2 days
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Male and female neonates meeting the criteria for induced hypothermia: * Gestational age ≥ 36 weeks and birth weight ≥ 1800 g; * Evidence of fetal distress, i.e., history of an acute perinatal event, cord pH ≤ 7.0 or base deficit ≤ - 16 mEq/L; * Evidence of neonatal distress, such as an Apgar score ≤ 5 at 10 minutes, postnatal blood gas pH obtained within the first hour of life ≤ 7.0 or base deficit ≤ - 16 mEq/L, or a continued need for ventilation initiated at birth and continued for at least 10 minutes; * Evidence of moderate to severe neonatal encephalopathy by an abnormal neurological exam and/or an amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram (aEEG). * Evidence of brain injury on a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed on day 2 of life. Exclusion Criteria: * Neonates with complex congenital heart disease * Neonates with cerebral malformations * Neonates with genetic syndrome * Neonates with intraventricular and/or intraparenchymal hemorrhage on MRI performed on day 2 of life
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Montreal Children's Hospital
Montreal, Quebec, H4A3J1, Canada
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