title: Pathophysiological role of inflammatory molecules in paediatric ischaemic brain injury.
abstract: Ischaemic stroke is one of the major causes of death and lifelong disability also in the paediatric population. Strong scientific effort has been put to clarify the pathophysiology of this disease in adults. However, only few studies have been performed in children. Preliminary results indicate that pathophysiological processes might differently affect the poststroke neuronal injury in neonates as compared to children. During the neural development, selective molecular mechanisms might be differently triggered by an ischaemic insult, thus potentially resulting in defined postischaemic clinical outcomes. Basic research studies in neonatal animal models of cerebral ischaemia have recently shown a potential role of soluble inflammatory molecules (such as cytokines, chemokines and oxidants) as pivotal players of neuronal injury in both perinatal and childhood ischaemic stroke. Although larger clinical trials are still needed to confirm these preliminary results, the potential benefits of selective treatments targeting inflammation in perinatal asphyxia encephalopathy might represent a promising investigation field in the near future. In this review, we will update evidence on the pathophysiological role of soluble inflammatory mediators in neonatal and childhood ischaemic stroke. Recent evidence on potential anti-inflammatory treatments to improve paediatric stroke prognosis will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, G. Gaslini Institute and University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Marisol
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mirabelli-Badenier
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Braunersreuther
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lenglet
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Galan
authors.forename: Edvige
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Veneselli
authors.forename: Giorgio L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Viviani
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mach
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Montecucco
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018925:Chemokines / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000502:physiology*; D023421:Models, Animal; D016877:Oxidants / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018925:Chemokines; D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D016877:Oxidants