Determinants of oxidant stress in extremely low birth weight premature infants

Early inflammation in the absence of overt infection in preterm neonates exposed to intensive care

“…Our study also lacks a causative mechanism to explain what triggers the early systemic inflammatory responses observed in absence of infection, which certainly deserves further investigation in larger cohorts. Although we have not directly measured oxidative stress, others have widely reported increases in plasma oxidant markers in infants exposed to supplemental oxygen [9,10,27,28]. The fact that anti-inflammatory medication marginally correlated with this early inflammation may reflect the tendency of clinicians to use more aggressive pharmacologic management in infants needing increased intensive care therapies, combined with a delayed anti-inflammatory effect of those drugs.…”

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: The Role of Oxidative Stress

“…Low blood level of glutathione were also reported in preterm neonates with chronic lung disease (White et al, 1994). Recently, Chessex et al (2010) demonstrated a correlation between BPD severity in preterm infants (26  1 weeks' gestation) and blood redox potential measured one week after birth: the more oxidized the redox potential, more severe the disease. As previously reported (Schafer & Buettner, 2001), the redox potential acts as a switch for a number of metabolic pathways, inducing cellular proliferation, differentiation or death (apoptosis) (Figure 2).…”

Developmental Regulation of Antioxidant Enzymes and Their Impact on Neonatal Lung Disease

“…Premature infants encounter multiple environmental challenges associated with the routine provision of neonatal care, including exposure to hyperoxia, hypoxia, ventilation, infection, inflammation, and ROS-generating therapies (e.g., total parenteral nutrition and dopamine). Whereas each of these factors individually contributes to the generation of oxidative stress, the collective exposure influences the development of BPD (25,27,62,88,115,117). The common path of ROS-mediated lung injury shared by these exposures highlights the need for novel strategies to alleviate the burden of oxidative stress.…”