Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Pediatr Neurol. 2022 Oct;135:12-21. doi: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2022.07.003. Epub 2022 Jul 16.
Hydrocephalus is currently managed by cerebrospinal fluid diversion from the cerebral ventricles to other body sites, but this is complicated by obstruction and infection in young infants, thus adding to morbidity and mortality. Studies have reported caffeine to be a pleiotropic neuroprotective drug in the developing brain due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic properties, with improved white matter microstructural development. In this study, we investigate the use of caffeine administration as a possible means of pharmacological management for hydrocephalus.
A total of 76 three-day-old mice pups from 10 dams were divided into four groups: hydrocephalus was induced in the pups in two groups by intracisternal injection of kaolin suspension, and their dams were given either caffeine (50 mg/kg by gavage) or water daily for 21 days; the dams in the other 2 (non-hydrocephalic) groups similarly had either caffeine or water; the pups received caffeine administered via lactation. Developmental neurobehavioral tests were performed until day 21, when the pups were sacrificed. Their brains were removed and processed for Cresyl and Golgi staining; both quantitative and qualitative analyses were then carried out.
Improved developmental motor activities and reflexes were observed in the hydrocephalus + caffeine-treated pups. Caffeine administration was associated with reduced cell death and increased dendritic arborization of the neurons in the sensorimotor cortex and striatum of hydrocephalic mice pups.
Caffeine administration appears to have promise as an adjunct in hydrocephalus management, and its use needs to be further explored.
脑积水目前通过将脑脊液从脑室内分流到其他身体部位来治疗，但这在婴幼儿中会因梗阻和感染而变得复杂，从而增加发病率和死亡率。研究表明，咖啡因由于其抗氧化、抗炎和抗细胞凋亡特性，以及改善白质微观结构发育，是发育中大脑的一种多效神经保护药物。在这项研究中，我们研究了咖啡因给药作为脑积水药物治疗的一种可能方法。
总共从 10 只母鼠的 76 只 3 天大的幼鼠中分为 4 组：两组幼鼠通过脑室内注射高岭土悬浮液诱导脑积水，其母鼠分别给予每日 50mg/kg 的咖啡因（灌胃）或水，持续 21 天；另外两组（非脑积水）的母鼠也同样给予咖啡因或水；幼鼠通过哺乳期接受咖啡因给药。进行发育神经行为测试，直到第 21 天处死幼鼠。取出其大脑并进行 Cresyl 和 Golgi 染色；然后进行定量和定性分析。
在脑积水+咖啡因治疗的幼鼠中观察到发育运动活动和反射的改善。咖啡因给药与减少脑积水幼鼠感觉运动皮层和纹状体神经元的细胞死亡和增加树突分支有关。
咖啡因给药似乎有希望成为脑积水管理的辅助手段，需要进一步探索其应用。
