ABSTRACT
In the last years new diagnostic technologies were developed to assess brain development
and to identify early brain injury. Some of them are very attractive methods but invasive,
expensive, and time-consuming. The availability of clinically useful serum markers
of risk for perinatal brain damage will easily permit the development of rational
strategies for prevention of cerebral insults in neonates and more accurate prognostic
counseling. In this study, protein S-100 (PS-100), a cytosolic constituent of neuroglial
cells, was measured serially, during the neonatal period, in a group of preterm infants
suffering perinatal asphyxia. Protein S-100 was measured at 1, 7, and 21 days of life
by radioimmunoassay. Cerebral ultrasound confirmed cerebral white matter insult. The
results of this study show significantly higher protein S-100 serum levels in asphyxiated
preterm babies with periventricular white matter lesions, with a peak at 24 hours
of life (5.7 ± 2.9 μg/L) compared with healthy preterm babies (0.6 ± 0.3 μg/L) (p <0.05) and progressively lower values at seven (3.3 ± 2.4 μg/L) and 21 days (2.2
± 1.3 μ/L) of life (p <0.05). These data suggest that elevated protein S-100 serum levels can be considered
an indicator of regional brain damage in preterm infants, allowing noninvasive, superior
scrutiny of perinatal asphyxia and potential early preventive strategies.
KEYWORDS
Protein S-100 - perinatal asphyxia - white matter lesion - preterm infant
