Erythropoietin in Management of Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy

Perinatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy occurs in one to three infants per 1000 term births, and up to 12 000 infants are affected each year in the united state of America. Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy is not preventable in most cases, and therapies are limited. Hypothermia improves outcomes and is the current standard of care. Yet clinical trials suggest that 44% to 53% of infants who receive hypothermia will die or suffer moderate to severe neurological disability. Therefore, novel neuroprotective therapies are urgently needed to further reduce the rate and severity of neurodevelopmental disabilities resulting from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Erythropoietin is a novel neuroprotective agent, with remarkable neuroprotective and neuroregenerative effects in animals. Rodent and primate models of neonatal brain injury support the safety and efficacy of multiple erythropoietin doses for improving histological and functional outcomes after hypoxia-ischaemia.