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Very preterm babies are at high risk for death or neurodevelopmental impairment. Despite ongoing improvement in survival rates, 40% of survivors will develop long-term intellectual or physical impairment, including cerebral palsy. The growth factor erythropoietin and its receptor are expressed in the developing central nervous system. In animal models, erythropoietin signaling has been shown to inhibit early mechanisms of brain injury. Now, its efficacy in improving neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants is under evaluation.
Between 2005 and 2012, investigators randomized 495 preterm babies (gestational age, 26 to 31 weeks) to receive three intravenous doses of recombinant human erythropoietin or saline placebo within 42 hours after …