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Query: UMLS:C0848771 (neurological disability)
 928 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Periventricular white matter injury (PWMI) is the leading cause of cerebral palsy and chronic neurological disability in survivors of prematurity. Despite the large number of affected children, the pathogenetic mechanisms related to PWMI remain controversial. Through studies of 33 human autopsy brains, we determined that early PWMI was related to oxidative damage that particularly targeted the oligodendrocyte lineage, whereas other neuronal and glial cell types were markedly more resistant. F(2)-isoprostanes, an arachidinate metabolite/lipid peroxidation marker of oxidative damage, were significantly increased in early PWMI lesions but not in cerebral cortex. That deleterious lipid peroxidation accompanied early PWMI was supported by similar increases in F(2)-isoprostanes levels in the cerebral cortex from term infants with hypoxic-ischemic cortical injury. Detection of F(4)-neuroprostanes, a neuronal-specific oxidative damage marker, confirmed that neuroaxonal elements were resistant to injury in cerebral cortex and white matter. Significant protein nitration was not detected in PWMI lesions by 3-nitrotyrosine staining. Significant cellular degeneration was confirmed in early PWMI lesions by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling and a marked depletion of oligodendrocyte progenitors of 71 +/- 8%. Hence, the predilection of preterm infants for PWMI is related to selective lipid peroxidation-mediated injury of cerebral white matter and targeted death of oligodendrocyte progenitors.
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PMID:Selective vulnerability of preterm white matter to oxidative damage defined by F2-isoprostanes. 1598 31

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a common cause of long-term neurological disability in children. Despite advances in supportive care, no treatments for HIE are available at present. The potential use of stem/progenitor cell therapies for neuroprotection or regeneration of the damaged adult brain has been evaluated in several preclinical studies, and the most promising results are now being tested in clinical trials. In recent years, the use of stem/progenitor cell transplantation in animal models of HIE has also been evaluated in several laboratories. It was shown that human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells and mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells may have a therapeutic potential through multiple mechanisms acting locally in the central nervous system and possibly in peripheral organs of hypoxic-ischemic animals. Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSCs) have also been transplanted in animal models of HIE, migrating long distances to ischemic brain areas and differentiating into neurons. The results of these studies have raised important questions that must be addressed before these findings can be translated to the bedside. In this review, we give a critical overview of the different studies published up to now, and we discuss the endogenous regenerative potential of NSCs of the newborn brain when challenged by an HIE insult. We also discuss the use of cell therapies for the encephalopathy of prematurity.
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PMID:Cell therapy for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. 1991 1

Prematurity is defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation and is the major determinant of morbidity and mortality in newborns. The gestational ages known as near term or late preterm represent about 75% of preterm births and are the fastest growing subgroups of premature infants. These infants range in gestational age from 34 0/7 to 36 6/7 weeks and are at greater risk of morbidity, such as respiratory complications, temperature instability, hypoglycemia, kernicterus, feeding problems, neonatal intensive care unit admissions, and adverse neurological sequelae when compared with term infants. Long-term neurological and school-age outcomes of late preterm infants are concerns of major public health importance because even a minor increase in the rate of neurological disability and scholastic failure in this group can have a huge impact on the health care and educational systems. There is an urgent need to educate health care providers and parents about the vulnerability of late preterm infants, who are in need of diligent monitoring and care during the initial hospital stay and a comprehensive follow-up plan for post neonatal and long-term evaluations. Clinicians involved in the day-to-day care of late preterm infants, as well as those developing guidelines and recommendations, would benefit from having a clear understanding of the potential differences in risks faced by these infants, compared with their more mature counterparts.
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PMID:Clinical issues in the management of late preterm infants. 2087 95