Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 29, 2025
The Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Model of Perinatal Ischemia
Published on: November 19, 2008
Does Perinatal Intermittent Hypoxia Affect Cerebrovascular Network Development?
Vanessa Coelho-Santos1,2,3,4, Anne-Jolene N Cruz1, Andy Y Shih1,2,5
1Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Insights
Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) during development may impair brain blood vessel growth. This can lead to lasting issues in cerebrovascular function and contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Physiology
Background:
- Perinatal hypoxia, particularly chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), affects premature infants.
- CIH involves repetitive oxygen deprivation and reoxygenation, triggering brain inflammation and oxidative stress.
- Cerebrovascular development is critical during gestation and early infancy, coinciding with CIH risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the hypothesis that CIH disrupts normal cerebrovascular development.
- To investigate the potential for CIH to create a feedback loop perpetuating metabolic insufficiency.
- To understand long-term consequences of CIH on brain microvascular structure and function.
Main Methods:
- This mini-review synthesizes existing knowledge on CIH and cerebrovascular development.
- It discusses the proposed mechanisms linking CIH to impaired vascular growth.
- The review examines the potential for lasting neurovascular deficits.
Main Results:
- CIH is hypothesized to derail normal development of the brain's microvascular network.
- This derailment may lead to a positive feedback loop exacerbating metabolic problems.
- Abnormalities in vascular structure and function are suggested as consequences of CIH.
Conclusions:
- CIH may induce permanent deficiencies in cerebrovascular function by disrupting development.
- These vascular changes could contribute to the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders.
- Further research is needed to confirm the impact of CIH on developing cerebrovasculature.
Abstract:
Perinatal hypoxia is an inadequate delivery of oxygen to the fetus in the period immediately before, during, or after the birth process. The most frequent form of hypoxia occurring in human development is chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) due to sleep-disordered breathing (apnea) or bradycardia events. CIH incidence is particularly high with premature infants. During CIH, repetitive cycles of hypoxia and reoxygenation initiate oxidative stress and inflammatory cascades in the brain. A dense microvascular network of arterioles, capillaries, and venules is required to support the constant metabolic demands of the adult brain. The development and refinement of this microvasculature is orchestrated throughout gestation and in the initial weeks after birth, at a critical juncture when CIH can occur. There is little knowledge on how CIH affects the development of the cerebrovasculature. However, since CIH (and its treatments) can cause profound abnormalities in tissue oxygen content and neural activity, there is reason to believe that it can induce lasting abnormalities in vascular structure and function at the microvascular level contributing to neurodevelopmental disorders. This mini-review discusses the hypothesis that CIH induces a positive feedback loop to perpetuate metabolic insufficiency through derailment of normal cerebrovascular development, leading to long-term deficiencies in cerebrovascular function.
