Preclinical Evaluation Of Infrared Light Therapy In A Rat Model Of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

PRECLINICAL EVALUATION OF INFRARED LIGHT THERAPY IN A RAT MODELOF NEONATAL HYPOXIC-ISCHEMIC ENCEPHALOPATHYbyCHRISTIAN ANDREW REYNOLDSAugust 2015Advisor: Drs. Karin Przyklenk and Thomas SandersonMajor: PhysiologyDegree: Doctor of PhilosophyThis work has provided two major technical contributions to the field of cerebralischemia-reperfusion injury. First, experiments in Chapter 3 have refined and providedbiochemical characterization of the rat model of HIE. Second, Chapter 4 focused on thedevelopment of a method of characterizing membrane lipids directly from their nativeand intact biological membranes without prior lipid extraction using the MAI-MStechnology pioneered in the Trimpin laboratory. While the current study used this newmethod exclusively to investigate alterations in the CL profile of brain mitochondriafollowing cerebral hypoxia-ischemia, the approach can be employed in variousmembrane lipid research applications. Finally, consistent with results from previous IRLefficacy studies using a rat model of adult global brain ischemia, experiments in Chapter5 establish that IRL treatment attenuated cerebral injury resulting from hypoxia-ischemiain the neonatal rat. Thus, and perhaps most importantly, this work contributes to thedevelopment of a potential novel therapeutic approach in the management of braininjuries arising as a result of perinatal asphyxia.