MEASURING THE ACCENTUATION OF THE BRAIN-DAMAGE THAT ARISES FROM PERINATAL CEREBRAL HYPOXIA-ISCHEMIA

To ascertain the manner in which the severity of perinatal brain damag e occurs as a result of hypoxia-ischemia, 7-day postnatal rats were su bjected to unilateral common carotid artery ligation followed thereaft er by exposure to 8% oxygen for up to 2.5 h. Following the hypoxic-isc hemic exposure, the rat pups were reared with their dams until 30 days of postnatal age, at which time their brains underwent pathologic ana lysis. The severity of brain damage at each of four specific intervals of hypoxia-ischemia was determined and statistically compared by line ar polynomial and nonparametric regression procedures. The data indica ted that the accentuation of brain damage with increasing duration of hypoxia-ischemia was linear rather than curvilinear.