Erythropoietin exerts neuroprotective effect in neonatal rat model of hypoxic–ischemic brain injury

Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy seen in survivors of perinatal asphyxia is a frequently encountered and a major clinical problem for which there is currently no effective treatment. Hematopoietic neuroprotective agents, such as erythropoietin (EPO) may rescue neurons from cell death in this setting. EPO is a cytokine hormone that has neuroprotective effect in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we evaluated the effect of posthypoxic EPO administration in an animal model of neonatal hypoxic–ischemic injury. Our results show that a single intracerebroventricular injection of EPO immediately after hypoxic–ischemic insult in neonatal rat model of hypoxic-ischemia reduced the extent of hypoxic–ischemic brain damage. The mean infarct volume assessed 7 days after hypoxia was significantly smaller in EPO-treated group than in the control group. These findings suggest that EPO may provide benefit after hypoxic–ischemic events in the developing brain, a major contributor to static encephalopathy and cerebral palsy.