title: Erythropoietin for neonatal brain injury: opportunity and challenge.
abstract: Neonatal brain injury, caused by perinatal hypoxia-ischemia and extreme prematurity, remains a great challenge for prevention and treatment. There is no effective treatment for term hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) except hypothermia which by itself does not afford complete neuroprotection. Erythropoietin (EPO), a pleiotropic cytokine, has neuroprotective effects in a series of neonatal experimental models and recent clinical trials of HIE. However, the mechanisms, dosing, and the toxicity of EPO in these settings are inconsistently reported. This review will focus on the possible mechanisms, recent clinical advances and potential complications of EPO used in research and the clinic. In addition, optimal dose and administrative routes of EPO, and novel EPO mimetics will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Dezhi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ferriero
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017467:Receptors, Erythropoietin / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D017467:Receptors, Erythropoietin; D004921:Erythropoietin