White matter protection with insulin-like growth factor-1 after hypoxia-ischaemia in preterm foetal sheep.

Supporting this concept, in a phase-II randomized trial in extremely pre-term (<28 weeks gestational age, n = 117) infants, a continuous intravenous (i.v.) infusion of rh IGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 (250 μg/kg daily) from ≤24 h of birth until 29 weeks ± 6 days post-menstrual age was associated with an apparent trend ( P = 0.14) towards less progression to Grades II–III germinal matrix and intraventricular, or periventricular haemorrhage, and no difference in diffuse or periventricular leukomalacia on cranial ultrasound compared with standard care. 23 However, these imaging outcomes were a secondary endpoint of the trial.

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