Neuroprotection with erythropoietin in preterm and/or low birth weight infants

Neonatal brain injury caused by extreme prematurity remains a great challenge for prevention. Erythropoietin (EPO) has shown neuroprotective effects in a series of neonatal experimental models and recent clinical trials of premature infants. In this meta-analysis of seven clinical trials, EPO was associated with a highly reproducible reduction in the risk of neurodevelopmental disability in preterm infants. However, there was no difference in the risk for morbidity, cerebral palsy, visual deficit, severe hearing deficit, necrotizing enterocolitis, intracranial hemorrhage and patent ductus arteriosus. The use of EPO, to some extent, is associated with reduction in neurodevelopmental disability in preterm infants. More double blind randomized controlled trials are needed to establish the best therapeutic approach for neuroprotection in preterm infants.