総括

抄録

Perinatal asphyxia is a well recognized cause of cerebaral palsy and related disabilities. However, uncertainties exist regarding the degree of asphyxia required to cause brain injury.
Determination of degree of asphyxia is a simple matter of measuring blood gases and pH. However, the mechanism of asphyxia required to produce cellular damage in a particular individual varies widely, depending not only on depth and duration of the asphyxia but even more on other biochemical changes, especially glucose, excitatory amino acids, calcium activated protein, or the receptor side of ionic channels. The mechanism of delayed neuronal cell death or cell-to-cell connection is also mysterious. The immature brain is not a reduced version of the adult brain. Studies should develop to a wide variety of aproaches to clear the complex interactions between birth asphyxia and anoxic brain damage.