Abstract
Recent studies suggest that delayed treatment with growth factors, including basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), may protect against neuronal death after brain injury. This delayed protective effect is particularly relevant to hypoxic–ischemic brain injury during the third trimester of pregnancy, since detection of the insult is much more likely once the fetus is born. The effect of delayed growth factor treatment has only been partly characterized, however, after perinatal hypoxic–ischemic injury. This injury is thought to be a major cause of motor disorders (e.g. cerebral palsy) and mental retardation in children. In both humans and rats, one of the damaged brain regions after perinatal hypoxia–ischemia is the striatum. We therefore determined the effect of delayed treatment with basic fibroblast growth factor at 24 and 48 h after perinatal hypoxia–ischemia on nerve cell survival within the rat striatum. The total number of surviving striatal spiny projection neurons was measured using modern stereological methods. It was found that delayed treatment with basic fibroblast growth factor did not improve the total number of surviving spiny projection neurons within the rat striatum after perinatal hypoxia–ischemia. Additional studies investigating the possibility of more subtle protective effects on surviving neurons by this treatment paradigm are warranted.
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