ArticlePediatric research2019
Repurposing azithromycin for neonatal neuroprotection.
Article in Pediatric research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hypothermia is not therapeutic in a neonatal piglet model of inflammation-sensitized hypoxia-ischemia.Pediatric research · 2022Trial
- Randomized trial of azithromycin to eradicate Ureaplasma respiratory colonization in preterm infants: 2-year outcomes.Pediatric research · 2022Trial
- Repurposing antimicrobial agents for neuroprotection: Mechanisms, clinical potential, and challenges.Neuroprotection (Chichester, England) · 2026Review
- The role of persistent inflammation in failed recovery after perinatal brain injury: is resolution the cure?Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Review
- Comparing neuroprotective drug efficacy in rodent neonatal brain injury models.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Postnatal Azithromycin Is Neuroprotective and Anti-Inflammatory in a Piglet Model of Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy.Stroke · 2026Article
- Multi-modal screening for synergistic neuroprotection of mild extremely preterm brain injury.Bioengineering & translational medicine · 2026Article
- Shifting outlooks after neonatal encephalopathy in the era of therapeutic hypothermia.Pediatric research · 2025Review
- Comparing Neuroprotective Drug Efficacy in Rodent Neonatal Brain Injury Models.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Azithromycin reduces hemoglobin-induced innate neuroimmune activation.Experimental neurology · 2024Article
- Comparing the efficacy in reducing brain injury of different neuroprotective agents following neonatal hypoxia-ischemia in newborn rats: a multi-drug randomized controlled screening trial.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Azithromycin and Sildenafil May Have Protective Effects on Retinal Ganglion Cells via Different Pathways: Study in a Rodent Microbead Model.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Understanding CNS Effects of Antimicrobial Drugs Using Zebrafish Models.Veterinary sciences · 2023Review
- Azithromycin reduces inflammation-amplified hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in neonatal rats.Pediatric research · 2022Article
- Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells as an adjunct therapy with therapeutic hypothermia in a piglet model of perinatal asphyxia.Cytotherapy · 2021Article
- Continued development of azithromycin as a neuroprotective therapeutic for the treatment of spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions.Neural regeneration research · 2021Article
- Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic damage: review of the current treatment possibilities.Physiological research · 2020Review
- Nanoparticle-microglial interaction in the ischemic brain is modulated by injury duration and treatment.Bioengineering & translational medicine · 2020Article
- Repurposing azithromycin for neuroprotection in neonates.Pediatric research · 2019Article
- Delayed Azithromycin Treatment Improves Recovery After Mouse Spinal Cord Injury.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInflammation contributes to neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury pathogenesis. We evaluated the neuroprotective efficacy of azithromycin, a safe, widely available antibiotic with anti-inflammatory properties, in a neonatal rodent hypoxic-ischemic brain injury model.
methodsSeven-day-old rats underwent right carotid artery ligation followed by 90-min 8% oxygen exposure; this procedure elicits quantifiable left forepaw functional impairment and right cerebral hemisphere damage. Sensorimotor function (vibrissae-stimulated forepaw placing, grip strength) and brain damage were compared in azithromycin- and saline-treated littermates 2-4 weeks later. Multiple treatment protocols were evaluated (variables included doses ranging from 15 to 45 mg/kg; treatment onset 15 min to 4 h post-hypoxia, and comparison of 1 vs. 3 injections).
resultsAll azithromycin doses improved function and reduced brain damage; efficacy was dose dependent, and declined with increasing treatment delay. Three azithromycin injections, administered over 48 h, improved performance on both function measures and reduced brain damage more than a single dose.
conclusionIn this neonatal rodent model, azithromycin improved functional and neuropathology outcomes. If supported by confirmatory studies in complementary neonatal brain injury models, azithromycin could be an attractive candidate drug for repurposing and evaluation for neonatal neuroprotection in clinical trials.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.