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Updated: Aug 22, 2026
Transient Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Model of Neonatal Stroke in P10 Rats
Published on: April 21, 2017
New therapeutic strategies in perinatal stroke
W Balduini1, S Carloni, E Mazzoni
1Istituto di Farmacologia e Farmacognosia, Università di Urbino Carlo Bo, Via S Chiara 27, 61029 (PU), Italy. walter.balduini@uniurb.it
Insights
Perinatal stroke causes lifelong neurological issues. This review explores neuroprotective strategies, focusing on statins to combat inflammation and cell death after hypoxic-ischemic injury in newborns.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pediatrics
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Perinatal stroke leads to severe, lifelong neurological deficits in children.
- Risk factors include birth asphyxia, cardiac issues, and blood disorders.
- Animal models are crucial for studying stroke mechanisms and therapeutic interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review pharmacological treatments for perinatal stroke.
- To emphasize the neuroprotective potential of statins.
- To discuss mechanisms of hypoxic-ischemic reperfusion injury.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of pharmacological treatments.
- Focus on anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic agents.
- Examination of statins' role in neuroprotection.
Main Results:
- Inflammation and apoptotic cell death are key post-stroke processes.
- Statins show promise as neuroprotective agents.
- Understanding reperfusion injury mechanisms is advancing.
Conclusions:
- Targeting inflammation and apoptosis is a promising therapeutic avenue.
- Statins represent an emerging neuroprotective strategy for perinatal stroke.
- Further research into neonatal hypoxic-ischemic injury mechanisms is warranted.
Abstract:
Perinatal stroke represents an important cause of severe neurological deficits that span the individual's lifetime, including delayed mental and motor development, epilepsy and major cognitive deficits. Most strokes occurring in term births, infants and children can be caused by thromboembolism from intracranial and extracranial vessels and are associated with a variety of risk factors such as birth asphyxia, cardiac diseases, blood disorders, maternal disorders, trauma. Animal models of perinatal stroke have been developed to examine the nature and the time course of the events occurring after the ischemic insult and the possible therapeutic strategies useful in reducing ischemic damage. The present article addresses the potential pharmacological treatments targeting the inflammatory process and apoptotic cell death, with a specific emphasis on the emerging role of statins as neuroprotective agents in perinatal stroke. As a prelude, we will also review advances in our understanding on the mechanisms underlying the hypoxic-ischemic reperfusion injury in the newborn.
