International journal of developmental neuroscience : the official journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience
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Int. J. Dev. Neurosci. · Feb 2008
Rapid NMDA receptor phosphorylation and oxidative stress precede striatal neurodegeneration after hypoxic ischemia in newborn piglets and are attenuated with hypothermia.
The basal ganglia of newborns are extremely vulnerable to hypoxic ischemia (HI). Striatal neurons undergo prominent necrosis after HI. The mechanisms for this degeneration are not well understood. ⋯ Hypothermia attenuated the oxidative damage and the NR1 phosphorylation in striatum. We conclude that neuronal death signaling in newborn striatum after HI is engaged rapidly through N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor activation, neuronal nitric oxide synthase recruitment, and oxidative stress. Postasphyxic, mild whole body hypothermia provides neuroprotection by suppressing N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor phosphorylation and protein oxidation.