title: Beneficial effect of hyperbaric oxygenation after neonatal germinal matrix hemorrhage.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH) is a potentially devastating neurological disease of very low birth weight premature infants. This leads to post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment is a broad neuroprotectant after brain injury. This study investigated the therapeutic effect of HBO after neonatal GMH.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neonatal rats underwent stereotaxic infusion of clostridial collagenase into the right germinal matrix (anterior caudate) brain region. Cognitive function was assessed at 3 weeks, and then sensorimotor, cerebral, cardiac, and splenic growths were measured 1 week thereafter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment markedly improved upon the mental retardation and cerebral palsy outcome measurements in rats at the juvenile developmental stage. The administration of HBO early after neonatal GMH also normalized brain atrophy, splenomegaly, and cardiac hypertrophy 1 month after injury.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study supports the role of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment in the early period after neonatal GMH. HBO is an effective strategy to help protect the infant's brain from the post-hemorrhagic consequences of brain atrophy, mental retardation, and cerebral palsy. Further studies are necessary to determine the mechanistic basis of these neuroprotective effects.
authors: Department of Physiology, Loma Linda University, School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA.
authors: Tim
authors: T
authors: Lekic
authors: Anatol
authors: A
authors: Manaenko
authors: William
authors: W
authors: Rolland
authors: Robert P
authors: RP
authors: Ostrowski
authors: Kelly
authors: K
authors: Virbel
authors: Jiping
authors: J
authors: Tang
authors: John H
authors: JH
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001284:Atrophy / Q000209:etiology; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D017364:Collagenases / Q000633:toxicity*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation / Q000379:methods*; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D017364:Collagenases