Vitamin D insufficiency in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Vitamin D has neuroprotective and immunomodulatory properties, and deficiency is associated with worse stroke outcomes. Little is known about effects of hypoxia-ischemia or hypothermia treatment on vitamin D status in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). We hypothesized vitamin D metabolism would be dysregulated in neonatal HIE altering specific cytokines involved in Th17 activation, which might be mitigated by hypothermia.

We analyzed short-term relationships between 25(OH) and 1,25(OH)₂ vitamin D, vitamin D binding protein, and cytokines related to Th17 function in serum samples from a multicenter randomized controlled trial of hypothermia 33 ^°C for 48 h after HIE birth vs. normothermia in 50 infants with moderate to severe HIE.

Insufficiency of 25(OH) vitamin D was observed after birth in 70% of infants, with further decline over the first 72 h, regardless of treatment. 25(OH) vitamin D positively correlated with anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-17E in all HIE infants. However, Th17 cytokine suppressor IL-27 was significantly increased by hypothermia, negating the IL-27 correlation with vitamin D observed in normothermic HIE infants.

Serum 25(OH) vitamin D insufficiency is present in the majority of term HIE neonates and is related to lower circulating anti-inflammatory IL-17E. Hypothermia does not mitigate vitamin D deficiency in HIE.