title: Erythropoietin reduces white matter damage in two-day-old rats exposed to hypoxic/ischemia injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to investigate whether erythropoietin (EPO) could protect against white matter damage (WMD) in a preterm equivalent neonatal rat hypoxic-ischemia (HI) model.
  
  
  METHODS
  113 two-day-old male rat pups were divided randomly into three groups: sham-treated, bilateral carotid artery occlusion (BCAO)-treated, BCAO + EPO-treated group. EPO (50 U/10 g body weight) or saline alone was administered intraperitoneally immediately after BCAO surgery. Body weight, brain weight, brain water content, and expression of myelin basic protein (MBP) were assessed at day 1, 3, 7, and 14 after HI insult. Morris water-maze (MWM) test was used to assess neurological behavior from day 31 to 35 after HI insult.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Body weights of BCAO + EPO group were greater than those of BCAO group rats (P < 0.05). Specifically, at day 3 and 7 after HI, brain weights of BCAO + EPO-treated rats were higher than BCAO-treated animals (P < 0.05); at day 7 and 14 after HI, MBP of BCAO + EPO-treated rats were higher than BCAO-treated animals (P < 0.05). Similarly, the brain water content at day 3 after HI in BCAO + EPO-treated rats was lower than BCAO-treated animals (P < 0.05). The body weight, brain weight, brain water content, and MBP expression in BCAO + EPO-treated group were comparable to those in the sham-treated group. Spatial learning and memory of BCAO + EPO-treated rats was significantly improved over the BCAO-treated group and was comparable to the sham-operated animals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EPO treatment could be a potential intervention in treating WMD for preterm infants.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pediatrics , Liaocheng People's Hospital , Liaocheng , China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: b School of Mathematical Sciences , Liaocheng University , Liaocheng , China.
authors.forename: Xing-Fang
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: c Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Liaocheng , Liaocheng , China.
authors.forename: Jin-Ying
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yang
keywords: Erythropoietin; Hypoxia–ischemia; Myelin basic protein; Neurological behavior; White matter injury