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Alleviating Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Stress: A Chinese Medicine Approach in Neonatal Rats
Yingxin Li1,2, Xi Huang1,2, Yanlin Hu1,2
1Department of Neonatology Nursing, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Insights
Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stress impacts rat growth but not behavior or stress hormones. Chinese medicine treatment (CMT) mitigated NICU stress effects, promoting growth in neonatal rats.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development
- Stress physiology
- Neuroscience
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
Background:
- Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environments present significant stressors during critical brain development periods.
- These early-life stressors can lead to long-term cognitive and behavioral deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of NICU-related stress on neonatal rat pups.
- To evaluate the efficacy of Chinese medicine treatment (CMT) in mitigating these stress-induced effects.
Main Methods:
- Sixty male rat pups were divided into control, NICU stress, and NICU stress plus CMT groups.
- Assessments included body weight, serum corticosterone, and behavioral tests (open field, elevated plus maze, sucrose preference, Morris water maze).
- Measurements were taken at multiple time points from birth through adulthood.
Main Results:
- NICU stress resulted in lower body weight in early life and adulthood compared to controls (P < 0.05).
- Serum corticosterone levels varied over time but showed no significant differences between groups.
- No significant differences in spatial memory, anxiety-like, or depression-like behaviors were observed among the groups.
Conclusions:
- NICU-related stress has a lasting impact on rat growth but does not alter cognitive or emotional behaviors or corticosterone levels.
- Chinese medicine treatment (CMT) effectively counteracted the negative effects of NICU stress on rat growth and development.
Background:
Premature infants are exposed to numerous stressors in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) during a crucial period for brain development; this period exerts long-term influences on cognitive and behavioral development.
Aims:
To evaluate the effect of NICU-related stress on neonatal rat pups and explore the effect of Chinese medicine treatment (CMT).
Methods:
Sixty male rat pups were randomly assigned to three groups: the control group, the NICU group (NICU-related stress), and the CMT group (NICU-related stress plus CMT). All stressors and interventions were administered from 0 to 7 days after birth. Body weight, serum corticosterone levels, and behavior in the open field (OF) test, elevated plus maze (EPM) test, sucrose preference test, and Morris water maze (MWM) test were recorded, and blood samples were collected at five different time points (T0, T1, T2, T3, and T4).
Results:
The body weights of rats in the CMT and control groups were heavier than those in the NICU group in both early life and adulthood (P < 0.05). Serum corticosterone levels significantly differed with time (except T0 vs. T1 and T3 vs. T4) but did not significantly differ among the three groups (F = 0.441, P = 0.894). Regardless of age, spatial memory and anxiety-like and depression-like behavior did not differ among the three groups.
Conclusion:
NICU-related stress exerted a long-term effect on rat growth and development but did not affect spatial memory, anxiety-like behavior, depression-like behavior, or serum corticosterone levels. CMT alleviated the impact of NICU-related stress on rats and promoted the growth and development of neonatal rats.
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