Abstract #4174

Short Erythropoietin Treatment Following Hypoxia-Ischemia in the Immature Rat Brain: Macro-, Micro-Structural & Metabolic Assessment using Multimodal MR

Yohan van De Looij^1,2, Alexandra Chatagner¹, Petra S. Hppi¹, Rolf Gruetter^2,3, Stphane V. Sizonenko¹

¹Division of Child Growth & Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; ²Laboratory for Functional & Metabolic Imaging, Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; ³Department of Radiology, Universities of Lausanne & Geneva, Lausanne & Geneva, Switzerland

Animal models of preterm brain injury can be achieved by Hypoxia-Ischemia (HI) and Erythropoietin (EPO) has been shown to be neuroprotective in different ischemic models. Here we investigated the neuroprotective effect of short EPO treatment in a model of neonatal HI injury in the P3 rat brain using high-field multimodal NMR techniques: MRI, MRS and DTI. This study shows a full characterization of the P3 HI model 22 days following insult by using multimodal NMR techniques. Acute treatment of EPO appears to not have any effect neither on tissue loss nor on white matter injuries or altered metabolism.