Hypoxic ischaemic injury can damage the brain at any age. However, the infant brain displays a unique profile of sensitivity and resistance compared to adult ischaemic stroke patients. Both pathology and response to treatment are uniquely affected by the molecular landscape of the neonatal brain. With new revelations in the biology of brain injury in perinates and neonates being discovered, as global mortality and morbidity increases research funding into infant brain injury, it is important to raise awareness of the unparalleled challenge of treating these young patients. This chapter will review currently known differences between the infant and adult brain response to hypoxia, and address existing treatments alongside proposed treatments not yet evaluated by clinical trial.
Part of the book: Hypoxia and Anoxia