EFFECT OF DEFEROXAMINE AND ALLOPURINOL ON NON-PROTEIN-BOUND IRON CONCENTRATIONS IN PLASMA AND CORTICAL BRAIN-TISSUE OF NEWBORN LAMBS FOLLOWING HYPOXIA-ISCHEMIA

Reduction of non-protein-bound iron (NPBI) using iron chelators may at tenuate hypoxia-ischemia-induced reperfusion injury of the brain. This study investigated whether administration of low-dose deferoxamine an d allopurinol, both having NPBI-chelating properties, reduced hypoxia- ischemia-induced NPBI formation in plasma effluent from the brain and in cerebral cortical tissue. Twenty-one newborn lambs underwent severe hypoxia-ischemia. Upon reperfusion and reoxygenation the lambs receiv ed either a placebo (n = 7), or deferoxamine 2.5 mg/kg (n = 7) or allo purinol 20 mg/kg (n = 7). The post-hypoxic-ischemic NPBI levels in pla sma were significantly lower after deferoxamine but not after allopuri nol as compared to placebo-treated lambs. Cortical NPBI levels in both deferoxamine and allopurinol-treated lambs were significantly lower t han NPBI levels in placebo-treated lambs. We conclude that deferoxamin e effectively lowers NPBI in plasma effluent from the brain, and that both, deferoxamine and allopurinol, lower NPBI in cortical brain tissu e. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.