Pediatrics & Therapeutics
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0665
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-0665
+44 1478 350008
Ahmet Guven, Bulent Uysal, Gokhan Gundogdu, Emin Oztas, Haluk Ozturk and Ahmet Korkmaz
Departments of Pediatric Surgery, Physiology, Turkey Medical Embryology and Histopathology, Turkey Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Turkey
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Pediatr Therapeut
Introduction: We designed the present study to evaluate the effi cacy of melatonin (M) on the severity of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in a neonatal rat model.
Materials and Methods: Immediately aft er birth, pups were weighed and randomized into three groups; NEC, NEC+M, and control. NEC was induced by enteral formula feeding and exposure to hypoxia following cold stress at 4°C and oxygen. Th e NEC+M group received 10 mg/kg melatonin daily for 3-days aft er the fi rst day of the NEC procedure. Th e pups were killed on the fourth day and their intestinal tissues were harvested for biochemical and histopathologic analysis. Blood sample were also obtained from the pups.
Results: Th e mortality rate and weight loss were highest in the NEC group. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl content (PCC) were signifi cantly increased, while superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were decreased in the NECtreated pups. Melatonin prevented these changes with these values being similar to control levels in the NEC+M group. Nitrate plus nitrite (NOx) levels and serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were increased in the NEC group and histopathologic injury score in the NEC group were signifi cantly higher than in the NEC+M group.
Conclusion: Melatonin signifi cantly reduced the severity of NEC in our study.