Oxidative stress in preterm newborns

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 typ-ical premature infant diseases, such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, kidney dam-age, eryptosis, and also respiratory distress syndrome and patent ductus arteriosus. Many bi-omarkers have been detected to early identify newborns at risk of developing a free radical-medi-ated 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 bi-omarkers as diagnostic tools, as well as in implementing antioxidant therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of these diseases and their sequelae.