Perinatal Brain Damage: Underlying Mechanisms and Neuroprotective Strategies

Abstract

Children who suffer from perinatal brain injury often deal with the dramatic consequences of this misfortune for the rest of their lives. Despite the severe clinical and socioeconomic significance, no effective clinical strategies have yet been developed to counteract this condition. As shown in recent studies, perinatal brain injury is usually brought about by cerebral ischemia, cerebral hemorrhage, or an ascending intrauterine infection. This review focuses on the pathophysiologic pathways activated by these insults and describes neuroprotective strategies that can be derived from these mechanisms. Fetal cerebral ischemia causes an acute breakdown of neuronal membrane potential followed by the release of excitatory amino acids such as glutamate and aspartate. Glutamate binds to postsynaptically located glutamate receptors that regulate calcium channels. The resulting calcium influx activates proteases, lipases, and endonucleases, which in turn destroy the cellular skeleton. A second wave of neuronal cell damage occurs during the reperfusion phase. This cell damage is thought to be caused by the postischemic release of oxygen radicals, synthesis of nitric oxide, inflammatory reactions, and an imbalance between the excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems. Furthermore, secondary neuronal cell damage may be brought about in part by induction of a cellular suicide program known as apoptosis. Recent studies have shown that inflammatory reactions not only aggravate secondary neuronal damage after cerebral ischemia, but may also injure the immature brain directly. This damage may be mediated by cardiovascular effects of endotoxins leading to cerebral hypoperfusion and by activation of apoptotic pathways in oligodendrocyte progenitors through the release of proinflammatory cytokines. Periventricular or intraventricular hemorrhage (PIVH) is a typical lesion of the immature brain. The inability of preterm fetuses to redistribute cardiac output in favor of the central organs and their lack of cerebral autoregulation may cause significant fluctuations in cerebral blood flow when oxygen is in short supply. Disruption of the thin-walled blood vessels in the germinal matrix with subsequent cerebral hemorrhage is often the inevitable result and is at times associated with cerebral hemorrhagic infarction. Knowledge of these pathophysiologic mechanisms has enabled scientists to develop new therapeutic strategies, which have been shown to be neuroprotective in animal experiments. The potential of such therapies is discussed here, particularly the promising effects of postischemic induction of cerebral hypothermia, the application of the calcium-antagonist flunarizine, and the administration of magnesium.