Vasopressin in cerebrospinal fluid of newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Preliminary report.

Vasopressin in cerebrospinal fluid has been measured in 27 fullterm newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. These newborns were divided into three groups according to the degree of neurological involvement, and they have been compared with a control group of 10 newborns. Determinations of vasopressin in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma were done by RIA. The cerebrospinal fluid vasopressin in asphyxiated newborns was higher than in the control group (p < 0.001); the mean concentration in the group of newborns classified as moderate or severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy was higher than in the control group (18.7 pg/ml vs 4.66 pg/ml), and also higher than in the group classified as mild (14.2 pg/ml). Cerebrospinal fluid vasopressin values have a direct relationship to the plasmatic values at 12 hours of life (r = 0.76; p < 0.001). We concluded that vasopressin values in cerebrospinal fluid at 12 hours increase according to the clinical severity of the neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and that they have a strong relationship with plasmatic vasopressin.