The current study investigated behavioral and post mortem neuroanatomical outcomes in Wistar rats with a neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury induced on postnatal day 6 (P6; Rice-Vannucci HI method; Rice et al., 1981). This preparation models brain injury seen in premature infants (gestational age (GA) 32-35 weeks) based on shared neurodevelopmental markers at time of insult, coupled with similar neuropathologic sequelae (Rice et al., 1981; Workman et al., 2013). Clinically, HI insult during this window is associated with poor outcomes that include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), motor coordination deficits, spatial memory deficits, and language/learning disabilities. To assess therapies that might offer translational potential for improved outcomes, we used a P6 HI rat model to measure the behavioral and neuroanatomical effects of two prospective preterm neuroprotective treatments - hypothermia and caffeine. Hypothermia (aka "cooling") is an approved and moderately efficacious intervention therapy for fullterm infants with perinatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury, but is not currently approved for preterm use. Caffeine is a respiratory stimulant used during removal of infants from ventilation but has shown surprising long-term benefits, leading to consideration as a therapy for HI of prematurity. Current findings support caffeine as a preterm neuroprotectant; treatment significantly improved some behavioral outcomes in a P6 HI rat model and partially rescued neuropathology. Hypothermia treatment (involving core temperature reduction by 4 °C for 5 h), conversely, was found to be largely ineffective and even deleterious for some measures in both HI and sham rats. These results have important implications for therapeutic intervention in at-risk preterm populations, and promote caution in the application of hypothermia protocols to at-risk premature infants without further research.
Keywords: Animal model; Behavior; Developmental disability; Neonate; Neuroprotection; Premature infant.
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