Petting rats has been found to lead to improved infant health and significant medical savings.
The research that—through studying the impacts of massaging rat pups—led to the findings that the condition of premature babies drastically improves with the introduction of massage has earned a Golden Goose Award for federally funded studies that significantly impact society. In 1979, Duke researchers Saul Schanberg—who died in 2009—Cynthia Kuhn and Gary Evoniuk set out to study how applying moderate pressure to rats affected a specific enzyme related to brain growth. Years later, Tiffany Fields from the University of Miami determined this same tactile stimulation could also boost brain growth in prematurely born infants.
“Now, there is so much focus on only doing things with very obvious, immediate, direct clinical ramifications that you lose what I think is the greatest strength of science in the United States: that it is very independent and entrepreneurial,” Kuhn said.
At the time, conducting the rat research had no immediately foreseeable application.
“The original goal and intent of the study was something quite different,” she added.
Application of the tactile stimulation techniques have enabled prematurely born infants to be released from the intensive care unit on average six days earlier than when stimulation techniques are not applied. This has led to $4.8 billion in insurance cost savings thus far, and Fields hopes these practices will become more widespread.
“If insurance companies wanted to save hospital costs, they would encourage this in practice," she said. "It’s currently only used in about 38 percent of neonatal intensive care units.”
Kuhn added that the practice is easy, inexpensive and based on scientific evidence. She said that at the University of North Carolina hospitals, members of the community volunteer to massage the infants.
The researchers will receive their award next week in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., where they will have the opportunity to speak with several congressmen. Both Kuhn and Fields expressed enthusiasm toward this meeting.
“I’m hoping our visit with congressmen will have some impact,” Fields said.
As the researchers prepare to receive their award, Kuhn reflected on how she wished Schanberg was still alive to receive the honor.
"I think he would be very content because this was the thing he did in his professional life of which he was most proud," she said. "I think he’d be thrilled.”
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