The changes and significance of diamine oxidase and intestinal fatty acid binding protein in the treatment of hypothermia for neonates after birth asphyxia

Objective To study the changes of diamine oxidase(DAO) and intestinal fatty acid binding protein(I-FABP) levels in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy treated with selective brain hypothermia. Methods Collect a sample of 60 newborns with moderate and severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy who were hospitalized in the NICU of Matemal and Child Health Care Hospital of Baoding from June 2013 to December 2014.The 60 newborns were divided into two groups randomly: hypothermia group(n=30) and conventional treatment group(n=30). Selected 30 cases hospitalized at the same period, except the related to the ischemia hypoxia and gastrointestinal dysfunction disease as the control group.The levels of serum levels of DAO and I-FABP were measured by ELISA on admission and 7 days after treatment, respectively.And the score of gastrointestinal dysfunction were compared. Results Neither the levels of DAO and I-FABP in hypothermia group and conventional treatment group had statistical differences on admission[DAO: (15.77±2.04) U/ml, (15.81±1.85) U/ml, P>0.05; I-FABP: (310.01±46.43)ng/L, (301.12±38.61)ng/L, P>0.05], but were higher than that in the control group[(7.65±0.74)U/ml, (51.65±6.91) ng/L]. Seven days after treatment, both the levels of DAO and I-FABP of hypothermia group and conventional treatment group decreased[DAO: (7.88±1.87) U/ml, (12.51±1.53) U/ml; I-FABP: (59.16±6.17) ng/L, (121.31±21.54) ng/L], meanwhile, the variation of hypothermia group was more significant(P<0.05). The correlation of the plasma DAO and I-FABP levels and the score of gastrointestinal dysfunction was significantly(r1=0.831, r2=0.827, P<0.01). Conclusion Hypothermia treatment could effectively reduce the levels of DAO and I-FABP, thus improve the gastrointestinal function in some extent. Key words: Hypothermia; Diamine oxidase; Intestinal fatty acid binding protein; Neonate; Asphyxia