Neonatal brain injury is a serious adverse outcome of prematurity. Early detection of high risk premature neonates to develop neonatal brain injury is not currently feasible. The predictive value of many biomarkers has been tested, but none is used currently in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels and predictive value of serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in a prospective longitudinal case-control study during the first three days of life in premature neonates (<34 weeks of gestation) that later developed either intraventricular hemorrhage or periventricular leukomalacia. Each case (n=29) was matched according to birth weight and gestational age to one neonate with normal head ultrasound scans. No significant difference on GFAP levels was observed between the groups. Nevertheless, neonates with brain injury presented more frequently GFAP levels above the lowest detection limit (0.056 ng/ml) and this trend was significantly different during all days. The effectiveness of GFAP as an early biomarker of neonatal brain injury in premature neonates seems to be limited.

中文翻译：

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血清胶质纤维酸性蛋白作为早产儿脑损伤的生物标志物。

新生儿脑损伤是早产的严重不良后果。早期发现高危早产儿发展为新生儿脑损伤目前是不可行的。许多生物标志物的预测价值已经过测试，但目前没有一个用于临床实践。本研究的目的是在一项前瞻性纵向病例对照研究中确定早产儿（<34 孕周）出生后前三天血清胶质纤维酸性蛋白 (GFAP) 的水平和预测价值，该研究后来发展为脑室内出血或脑室周围白质软化。每个病例（n=29）根据出生体重和胎龄与一名头部超声扫描正常的新生儿相匹配。各组之间没有观察到GFAP水平的显着差异。尽管如此，脑损伤新生儿的 GFAP 水平更频繁地高于最低检测限 (0.056 ng/ml)，并且这一趋势在所有日子里都有显着不同。GFAP 作为早产儿脑损伤早期生物标志物的有效性似乎有限。