Yohan van de Looij1,2, Alexandra Chatagner1, Nicolas Kunz1,2, Petra S. Hppi1, Rolf Gruetter3,4, Stphane V. Sizonenko1
1Division of Child Growth & Development, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; 2Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; 3Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne , Lausanne, Switzerland; 4Department of Radiology, University of Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland
The 3-day old rat (P3) shares some similarities in terms of cerebral development to the very preterm infant. Animal models of periventricular leukomalacia (most important cerebral alteration after premature birth) can be achieved by Hypoxia-Ischemia (HI). Here we investigated the neuroprotective effect of EPO in a model of neonatal HI injury in the P3 rat pup using DTI, MRS and immunohistochemistry. EPO appears able to reduce tissue loss and white matter injuries but it retains compromised metabolism consistent with incomplete recovery from EPO, giving a highly relevant new insight in the neuroprotective effect of EPO.
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