Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) often causes hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a neurological condition that can lead to overall disability in newborns. The only treatment available for affected neonates is therapeutic hypothermia; however, cooling is not always effective to prevent the deleterious effects of HI, so compounds such as cannabinoids are currently under research as new therapies. Modulating the endocannabinoid system (ECS) may reduce brain damage and/or stimulate cell proliferation at the neurogenic niches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroglia mediate multiple facets of neuroinflammation, including cytotoxicity, repair, regeneration, and immunosuppression due to their ability to acquire diverse activation states, or phenotypes. Modulation of microglial phenotype is an appealing neurotherapeutic strategy but a comprehensive study of classical and more novel microglial phenotypic markers in vitro is lacking. The aim of this study was to outline the temporal expression of a battery of phenotype markers from polarised microglia to generate an in vitro tool for screening the immunomodulatory potential of novel compounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury is one of the main causes of disabilities in term-born infants. It is the result of a deprivation of oxygen and glucose in the neural tissue. As one of the most important causes of brain damage in the newborn period, the neonatal HI event is a devastating condition that can lead to long-term neurological deficits or even death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypoxic-ischemic (HI) insult during the perinatal period remains as one of the most common causes of brain injury and produces long-term neurological deficits, and there is a growing need for effective therapies. The aim of the present work was to perform a prospective study designed to assess the possible protector effect of two endocannabinoids: 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2AG) and anandamide (AEA) in the brain after HI injury in perinatal rat model. We evaluate their effects on cell death and check several cellular parameters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this work was to analyze the effect of MgSO(4) treatment in the brain after hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury in premature fetal lambs. Injury was induced by partial occlusion of umbilical cord for 60 min, and then the preterm lambs (80-90% of gestation) were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: control group, in which the animals were managed by conventional mechanical ventilation for 3 hr; 3 hr postpartial cord occlusion (3-hr-PCO) group, in which injured animals were managed by ventilation and then sacrificed 3 hr after HI; and MgSO(4) group, in which animals received 400 mg/kg MgSO(4) for 20 min soon after HI was induced and were managed by ventilation for 3 hr. Brains were analyzed for apoptosis by TUNEL assay.
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