Both antenatal and postnatal inflammation contribute information about the risk of brain damage in extremely preterm newborns

Diana Yanni, Steven J Korzeniewski, Elizabeth N Allred, Raina N Fichorova, T Michael O’Shea, Karl Kuban, Olaf Dammann, Alan Leviton

Pediatr Res. 2017 Oct;82(4):691-696. doi: 10.1038/pr.2017.128. Epub 2017 Jun 21.

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BACKGROUND Preterm newborns exposed to IU inflammation are at ▲risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. We hypothesized that adverse outcomes more strongly associated with combination of antenatal and postnatal inflammation than either alone.

RESULTS risk of WM damage increased when placental inflammation followed by elevation of CRP or ICAM-1. We found same for spastic CP when placental inflammation followed by elevation of TNF-α or IL-8. Presence of both placental inflammation & ▲ levels of IL-6, TNF-α, or ICAM-1 associated with microcephaly risk . CONCLUSION Compared to single hit, two inflammatory hits associated with stronger risk for abnormal HUS, spastic cerebral palsy, and microcephaly at 2 years.

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