Hypothermia prevents the development of ischemic proliferative retinopathy induced by severe perinatal asphyxia.
Obstetric complications, such as perinatal asphyxia, may cause retinal injuries as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a type of ischemic proliferative retinopathy. Up to date there are no appropriate experimental models for studying the long-term sequels of this disease. In the present work, we present an experimental model of perinatal asphyxia which shows structural and ultrastructural retinal alterations at the most inner layers of the retina, such as neurodegeneration, development of neoformed vessels and glial reaction, which are compatible with the histopathological description of ROP. Besides, the application of hypothermia during perinatal asphyxia showed effective results preventing cellular and morphological alterations. This study may contribute to the development of therapies in order to either ameliorate or prevent retinal damage. In this manner, hypothermia may improve life quality and decrease medical, family and social costs of these avoidable causes of blindness.
Laboratorio de Neuropatología Experimental, Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia Prof. E. De Robertis, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Paraguay 2155 3 degrees Piso, (C1121ABG) Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Manuel
M
Rey-Funes
Mariano Esteban
ME
Ibarra
Verónica Berta
VB
Dorfman
Ester María
EM
López
Juan José
JJ
López-Costa
Héctor
H
Coirini
César Fabián
CF
Loidl
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000150:complications*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017628:Microglia / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*
D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein