The principal investigators in the PPRU Network are pioneers in the field of pediatric pharmacology. Their combined contributions in this specialized area exceed 1,500 publications. The research expertise of Network investigators is varied and all-encompassing within the field of pediatrics.
The involvement of children in clinical trials requires study designs that minimize discomfort in patients and do not disturb family life. The PPRU pediatric pharmacologists use their combined experience and skills and access to large numbers of children to shorten the study period.
The PPRU Network strives to develop child-friendly protocols with minimal risk for all pediatric patients regardless of their condition. Pediatric patients involved in drug studies include those with common disorders, such as allergies, asthma and upper respiratory infections, as well as those with less common disorders, such as cystic fibrosis, severe infections, AIDS, sickle cell anemia, cancer, and childhood depression.
The combined outpatient capabilities of the Network ensure prompt recruitment for clinical trials of drugs including, but not limited to, antipyretics, analgesics, antibiotics, decongestants and bronchodilators.
The Network is also committed to developing safe and effective drug therapy for children in intensive care and in life-threatening situations. Studies of drugs in patients in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units and in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, hemodialysis, and after organ transplantation, put the PPRU Network at the forefront of pharmaceutical development.
An overriding consideration for the PPRU pediatric pharmacologists is to delineate the effects of childhood development on the pharmacokinetics of drugs, the influence of age-specific changes in drug disposition and pharmacodynamics, and the interplay between disease states and stage of development.
Research priorities in this area are obesity, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance in childhood and adolescence. Special emphasis is placed on developing methods for detecting potential diabetics in childhood and for developing successful techniques of immunomodulation to prevent or mitigate the body's immune attack on the pancreatic beta cell. Similarly, studies of obesity and hyperlipidemia focus on the etiology, consequences, and prevention of childhood obesity and hyperlipidemia. Studies of calcium intake during adolescence and the prevention of osteoporosis later in life are encouraged.
