NEONATAL CYTOKINES AND COAGULATION-FACTORS IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL-PALSY

We explored the association of inflammatory mediators and markers of a utoimmune and coagulation disorders with cerebral palsy (CP), examinin g 53 analytes in dried neonatal blood of 31 children with spastic CP, most born at term, and 65 control children. Ultramicroanalysis was per formed by recycling immunoaffinity chromatography coupled with laser-e nhanced fluorescence and chemiluminescence detection. Reactive antibod ies to lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin, antithrombin III, and the translational product of the factor V Leiden mutation were isolated b y recycling immunoaffinity chromatography and measured by capillary el ectrophoresis with chemiluminescence-enhanced immunoassay. Higher conc entrations of interleukins (ILs) 1, 8, 9, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and RANTES were observed in these children with CP than in any contro l child. There were also substantial elevations of IL-6, 11, 13, and o ther chemokines and colony-stimulating factors in children with CP. An tiphospholipid antibody was present in a titer of 1:100 or greater in 4 children with CP and no control child. Using cuts empirically chosen by recursive partitioning, we found higher concentrations of antibody to antithrombin III, to a translational product of factor V Leiden mu tation, and to proteins C and S in children with CP than in controls. We conclude that inflammation and these coagulation abnormalities, whi ch have interacting pathways, are important in the etiology of CP.