Caffeine for Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

Summary

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) due to perinatal asphyxia is common and often fatal. Therapeutic hypothermia reduces mortality and morbidity in infants with HIE. Even with the widespread use of therapeutic hypothermia, \~60% of infants with HIE die or have neurodevelopmental impairment. As a result, there is an urgent, unmet public health need to develop adjuvant therapies to improve survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes in this population. Caffeine may offer neuroprotection for infants with HIE by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain and reducing neuronal cell death. In animal models of HIE, caffeine reduces white matter brain injury. Drugs in the same class as caffeine (i.e., methylxanthines) have been shown to be protective against acute kidney injury in the setting of HIE. However, their safety and efficacy have not been studied in the setting of therapeutic hypothermia and their effect on neurological outcomes is not known. Since these drugs reduce injury to the kidney in infants with HIE, they may also reduce injury to the brain. This phase I study will evaluate the pharmacokinetics, safety, and preliminary effectiveness of caffeine as an adjuvant therapy to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants with HIE.

Timeline

Start

2019-08-14

Primary completion

2023-01-01

Completion

2024-12-31

Publications

• Background Shankaran S, McDonald SA, Laptook AR, Hintz SR, Barnes PD, Das A, Pappas A, Higgins RD; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Neonatal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Pattern of Brain Injury as a Biomarker of Childhood Outcomes following a Trial of Hypothermia for Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy. J Pediatr. 2015 Nov;167(5):987-93.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.08.013. Epub 2015 Sep 16.
• Background Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Ehrenkranz RA, Tyson JE, McDonald SA, Donovan EF, Fanaroff AA, Poole WK, Wright LL, Higgins RD, Finer NN, Carlo WA, Duara S, Oh W, Cotten CM, Stevenson DK, Stoll BJ, Lemons JA, Guillet R, Jobe AH; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Whole-body hypothermia for neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. N Engl J Med. 2005 Oct 13;353(15):1574-84. doi: 10.1056/NEJMcps050929.
• Results Jackson W, Gonzalez D, Greenberg RG, Lee YZ, Laughon MM. A phase I trial of caffeine to evaluate safety in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. J Perinatol. 2024 Apr;44(4):508-512. doi: 10.1038/s41372-023-01752-y. Epub 2023 Aug 16.

Drugs

Indications