Abstract #4439

Lactoferrine Supplementation Following Hypoxia-Ischemia in the Immature Rat Brain: Macro-, Micro-Structural and Metabolic Assessment of the Neuroprotective Effect Using Multimodal MR

Yohan van de Looij¹,², Alexandra Chatagner¹, Petra S. Hppi¹, Rolf Gruetter³,⁴, Stphane Sizonenko¹

¹Division of Child Growth & Development, 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, Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland

Animal models of preterm brain injury can be achieved by Hypoxia-Ischemia (HI) and Lactoferrine (Lf) has been shown to be neuroprotective in rat brain following prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids. Here we investigated the neuroprotective effect of Lf supplementation in a model of neonatal HI injury in the P3 rat brain using high-field multimodal NMR techniques: MRI, MRS, DTI and Phase imaging. This study shows a full characterization of the P3 HI model 22 days following insult by using multimodal NMR techniques. Lf seems to have a neuroprotective effect on tissue loss, white matter injuries as well as altered metabolism.