Darbepoetin Trial to Improve Red Cell Mass and Neuroprotection in Preterm Infants

Study Hypothesis: Preterm infants administered weekly Darbe during the neonatal period will have improved neurocognitive outcome at 22-26 months compared to placebo

Advances in neonatal care have led to significant improvements in the survival of the nearly 60,000 very low birth weight (VLBW) infants born each year in the U.S. Improving neurodevelopmental outcomes for these preterm infants continues to be a major goal for neonatal care providers. A subset of these infants sustain a grade 3 or 4 intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) resulting in an increase in the incidence of developmental delay. Moreover, almost one third of preterm infants with normal head ultrasounds also develop cognitive delay. Although a variety of neuroprotective treatment strategies have been evaluated, no specific treatment has been identified to reduce or prevent brain injury in these most vulnerable preterm infants. A potential neuroprotective therapy involves administering erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) such as erythropoietin (Epo) and Darbepoetin (Darbe, a longer acting ESA). In addition to stimulating erythropoiesis, ESAs have been shown to be protective in the developing brain in animal models, making it possibly beneficial for very premature infants who are at risk for intraventricular hemorrhage, hypoxic-ischemic injury, and developmental delay. The neuroprotective mechanisms of ESAs include increased neurogenesis, decreased neuronal susceptibility to glutamate toxicity, decreased neuronal apoptosis, decreased inflammation, decreased nitric oxide-mediated injury, increased antioxidant response, decreased axonal degeneration, and increased protective effects on glia. This is a randomized, masked, placebo controlled clinical study in which enrolled infants will receive weekly Darbe or placebo (sham) dosing. Extended follow-up: Subjects will be seen for follow-up at 4-5 years (i.e., 4 years - 4 years 11 months) corrected age and 6-7 years (i.e., 6 years - 6 years 11 months) corrected age to characterize the functional, behavioral and neurological outcomes of the extremely low birth weight (ELBW) population at school age based on treatment with darbepoetin versus placebo in the neonatal period.