Journal
EARLY HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Volume 81, Issue 1, Pages 27-34Publisher
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2004.10.012
Keywords
fetus; brain injury; infection; hypoxia-ischaemia; cytokines
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The fetal brain is protected from the effects of acute hypoxia by a range of haemodynamic and metabolic compensations. Hypoxia alone is therefore an unusual cause of perinatal brain injury in either preterm or term infants. More recently, materno-fetal infection has been implicated as a causative factor in cases of cerebral palsy associated with preterm and term birth. This paper explores the concept that exposure to infection, and in particular pro-inflammatory cytokines, may reduce the threshold at which hypoxia becomes neurotoxic, so making the brain much more vulnerable to even mild hypoxic insults. The hypothesis is supported by an increasing body of evidence from animal studies that also demonstrate the importance of duration between exposure to infection and subsequent hypoxia. There are a number of clinical and research implications that centre around the role of antibiotics, mode and timing of delivery, maternal cooling during tabour and the role of immune-modulating drugs. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available