UREAPLASMA INFECTION IN UTERO: PREVENTION OF NEUROLOGIC SEQUELAE

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The objectives of this research are to delineate the extent of cerebral white matter inflammation and neuronal injury caused by genital mycoplasmas (U. parvum) and to assess the efficacy of maternal antibiotic plus anti-inflammatory therapy in ameliorating fetal brain inflammation and neuronal injury. It is our hypothesis that prenatal treatment of U. parvum intra-amniotic infection (IAI) with specific antibiotics and appropriate anti-inflammatory agents will delay preterm delivery and mitigate fetal origins of neonatal cerebral white matter injury. To facilitate our studies we will establish a special care nursery (SCN) that will support postnatal survival of prematurely born rhesus monkeys and specific neurobehavioral assessment protocols to study postnatal neurologic sequelae. With medical direction from collaborating academic neonatologists and ONPRC veterinarians, we will develop critical care management plans, as well as standard operating procedures neonatal care.