Experimental therapeutic approaches in animal models of perinatal brain lesions.

Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is one of the prevalent neurological pathologies of the newborn and is associated with neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and cognitive disturbances. The decrease of blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain hinder cell function and survival, activating several signaling cascades that lead to mitochondrial and oxidative imbalance, apoptosis and neuroinflammation that involve neurons, glial and vascular cells. The standard clinic therapy is therapeutic hypothermia (reduction of body and brain temperature to halt lesion progression), however therapeutic window is narrow, and its efficacy is limited to mild cases only.