'Super Glue' may help save babies with Vein of Galen malformation

London, Dec 3 (ANI): Scotland doctors have pioneered a novel technique to save the lives of children suffering from Vein of Galen malformation, which kills babies within three or four days.

Children born with the rare condition suffer problems in the way arteries and veins interact in the brain.

It causes stress on their heart and babies usually die within three or four days as a result of heart failure or hydrocephalus - water on the brain.

The research team at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow and Great Ormond Street Hospital in London are using glue to save the affected kids.

During the treatment a tissue adhesive called Histoacryl - similar to Super Glue - is injected through a catheter in the baby's groin, which blocks the affected area of the brain.

Despite the condition being so rare, demand for the treatment is rising, say doctors.

Dr Stefan Brew, a consultant interventional neuro-radiologist, has treated about 50 children at Great Ormond Street Hospital with the glue procedure and says he still found carrying out the highly skilled procedure "incredibly stressful".

"It's very satisfying work. The children go from looking like they were about to die, often overnight, to looking very well," the Scotsman quoted Brew as saying.

Catrin Evans, 32, from Talgarreg, west Wales, described the glue treatment as "a miracle".

"I was just relieved somebody was giving some kind of hope, even if it didn't work out," she said.

Her son, Dafi, had the first procedure when he was just a day old. He is now a lively 16-month-old toddler, although he has needed further treatments and expects to undergo his sixth next month. (ANI)