Cell therapy in neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy

Abstract

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a major cause of preterm brain injury. In the Western world, there has been a tremendous increase in preterm birth rates over the past 20 years and the incidence of perinatal HIE is estimated at two to six per 1000 live-born infants. Currently, few treatment options are available for preterms suffering from HIE. In this translational research project, we hypothesize that Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) and Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) therapies can reduce hypoxic-ischemic related synapse loss, neurodegeneration, microglial proliferation and damage to pre-oligodendrocytes in a fetal sheep model, thereby limiting preterm HIE.