Hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy

Over the past several years, basic and clinical research has improved our understanding of critical cellular and molecular events which eventually lead to brain damage following perinatal hypoxia-ischaemia. The knowledge that perinatal hypoxia-ischaemia is a process that evolves over hours to days provides a “window of opportunity” for intervention. This review briefly covers the biochemical and physiological changes that occur in the neonatal brain following hypoxia-ischaemia.