Researchers found that erythropoietin (EPO)), a hormone illegally used by athletes to boost their performance, may help prevent brain injuries in premature babies.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association involved premature babies between 26 and 31 weeks old born in Switzerland.

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A research team at the University Hospital of Geneva discovered through brain scans that premature infants given EPO had a reduced risk of brain injury. Three doses of EPO were given to the babies shortly after they were born.

Infants given EPO were at 22 percent lower risk of injury to their brains' white matter and 7 percent lower risk for their grey matter. The control group had a 36 percent risk for injury to the white matter and, 19 percent risk to their grey matter.

Synthetic EPO has been used to treat babies with anemia because the hormone stimulates red blood cell production. Premature babies are also given EPO to reduce the need for blood transfusions.

This is the first time EPO's benefits have been observed in the brains of premature babies.

"We found that the brains of the children who had received the treatment had much less damage than those in the control group, who had been given a placebo," said Dr. Russia Ha-Vinh Leuchter, co-researcher of the study.

Because of these findings, researchers are pushing for further studies and clinical trials on EPO to determine if the hormone really does protect the brains of premature babies during the critical weeks following their births.

Dr Jane Hawdon, a consultant neonatologist at Barts Health NHS Trust who was not involved with the study, stated that despite the promising results, researchers are not recommending the treatment as part of routine practice.

"It is also important to note that the majority of preterm babies do not sustain significant brain injury."