Erythropoietin and caffeine exert similar protective impact against neonatal intermittent hypoxia: Apnea of prematurity and sex dimorphism.

Erythropoietin and caffeine exert similar protective impact against neonatal intermittent hypoxia: Apnea of prematurity and sex dimorphism. Exp Neurol. 2019 Jun 26;:112985 Authors: Laouafa S, Iturri P, Arias C, Marcouiller F, Gonzales M, Joseph V, Bairam A, Soliz J Abstract Apnea of prematurity (AoP) is associated with severe and repeated episodes of arterial oxygen desaturation (intermittent hypoxia - IH), which in turn increases the number of apneas. So far, there is no data addressing whether IH leads to sex-specific respiratory consequences, neither if drugs targeting AoP are more effective in males or females. We used rat pups for investigating whether IH-mediated increase of apneas is sex-specific. We also tested whether caffeine (treatment of choice of AoP), erythropoietin (Epo - a neuroprotective factor and potent respiratory stimulant), and combination of both (caffeine+Epo) prevent the IH-mediated formation of apneas in a sex-dependent manner. Newborn rats exposed to IH (21% - 10% FIO2-8 h a day - 10 cycles per hour) during postnatal days (P) 3-10 were used in this work. Animals were administered drug vehicle, Epo, caffeine and Epo + caffeine (daily from P3 to P10) gavage. At P10 the frequency of apneas at rest (as an index of respiratory dysfunction induced by IH), and respiratory parameters were measured by plethysmography. Our results showed that IH significantly increases the number of apneas in male but not in ...
Source: Experimental Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Exp Neurol Source Type: research