Iron metabolism, oxidative stress, and neonatal brain injury.

Abstract

The brain injury associated with neonatal hypoxia ischemia (HI) is a major contributor to neonatal mortality and neurodevelopment retardation. Approximately 30–40% of infants with brain injury will die and 20–40% of survivors will develop significant neurological disorders and lifelong disability, such as cerebral palsy, seizures, visual impairment, mental retardation, learning impairment and epilepsy. Preterm birth is a high risk factor for neonatal brain injury. In the U.S., nearly 12% of babies are born preterm, and care of preterm infants accounts for more than half of pediatric health care dollars spent (Juul and Ferriero, 2014). A greater understanding of the complex mechanisms that result in neonatal hypoxia ischemic brain injury is the key to developing new protective therapeutics.