In newborn infants, birth asphyxia represents the predominant cause of brain injury. These infants will later exhibit neurodevelopmental disabilities or a more major cerebral palsy. Prevention of adverse outcomes requires an understanding of the way in which these deficits develop. Endogenous protective mechanisms arising from the insult have opened new insights in neuroprotective strategies. Neurotrophic factors such as IGF-1 and its N-terminal tripeptide GPE have been shown to confer some neuroprotection after HI injury in the adult rodent. In the P21 rat brain after moderate HI injury, exogenous intracerebral and intraperitoneal injections of GPE (30μg and 300μg respectively) were neuroprotective in the hippocampus and lateral cortex possibly through binding to glia as detected by autoradiography of 3H-GPE. In the preterm infant the mechanisms of white matter injury remain to be clearly elucidated. To mimic the pattern of diffuse cerebral injury of the very preterm infant, a transient moderate focal HI injury has been applied on the immature P3 rat. This new model showed a significant reduction in the lateral cortical volume with reduction and alteration of the myelination pattern in the cortical white matter (WM) at P21. These cortical alterations result from neuro-axonal damage 24h after the insult as shown with Fluoro-Jade B staining and β-APP accumulation. In addition activated astrocytes from 24h after HI up to P21 were present. This model should enable us to elucidate some of the pathogenic mechanisms involved in diffuse WM injury. Brain damage in the developing brain has two components: 1) the pattern and mechanisms of injury are correlated with the stage of development at the time of injury; 2) it will influence subsequent brain development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/275550 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Sizonenko, Stéphane Vladimir |
| Publisher | ResearchSpace@Auckland |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated., http://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm, Copyright: The author |
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