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Review
. 2021 Oct 23;10(11):1672.
doi: 10.3390/antiox10111672.

Oxidative Stress in Preterm Newborns

Chiara Lembo  1 , Giuseppe Buonocore  1 , Serafina Perrone  2
Affiliations
Review

Oxidative Stress in Preterm Newborns

Chiara Lembo et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Preterm babies are highly susceptible to oxidative stress (OS) due to an imbalance between the oxidant and antioxidant systems. The generation of free radicals (FR) induces oxidative damage to multiple body organs and systems. OS is the main factor responsible for the development of typical premature infant diseases, such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, kidney damage, eryptosis, and also respiratory distress syndrome and patent ductus arteriosus. Many biomarkers have been detected to early identify newborns at risk of developing a free radical-mediated disease and to investigate new antioxidant strategies. This review reports the current knowledge on OS in the preterm newborns and the newest findings concerning the use of OS biomarkers as diagnostic tools, as well as in implementing antioxidant therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of these diseases and their sequelae.

Keywords: antioxidants; biomarkers; free radicals; newborn infants; oxidative stress; prematurity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Oxidative stress, free radical-mediated diseases, and biomarkers. Abbreviations: BPD: bronchopulmonary dysplasia, ROP: retinopathy of prematurity, NEC: necrotizing enterocolitis, IVH: intraventricular hemorrhage, PVL: periventricular leukomalacia, RDS: respiratory distress syndrome, PDA: patent ductus arteriosus, AGE: advanced glycated end product, AOPP: advanced oxidation protein products, TH: total hydroperoxide, IsoPs: isoprostanes, IsoFs: isofurans, NeuroPr: neuroprostanes, MDA: malondialdehyde, 4-HNE: 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, SOD: superoxide dismutase, CAT: catalase, GPX: glutathione peroxidase, GSH: glutathione, GSSG: glutathione disulfide, NPBI: non protein-bound iron, 8-OHdG: 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine, XO: xanthine oxidase, MPO: myeloperoxidase, TAC: total antioxidant capacity, TOS: total antioxidant status, OSI: oxidative stress index. Image created in BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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