Inflammatory cytokine response and reduced heart rate variability in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Objective:to determine whether systemic inflammation-modulating cytokine expression is related to heart rate variability (hrv) in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (hie).study design:the data from 30 newborns with hie were analyzed. cytokine levels (il-2, il-4, il-6, il-8, il-10, il-13, il-1β, tnf-α, ifn-λ) were measured either at 24 h of cooling (n=5), 72 h of cooling (n=4) or at both timepoints (n=21). the following hrv metrics were quantified in the time domain: alpha_s, alpha_l, root mean square (rms) at short time scales (rms_s), rms at long time scales (rms_l), while low-frequency power (lf) and high-frequency power (hf) were quantified in the frequency domain. the relationships between hrv metrics and cytokines were evaluated using mixed-models.result:il-6, il-8, il-10, and il-13 levels were inversely related to selected hrv metrics.conclusion:inflammation-modulating cytokines may be important mediators in the autonomic dysfunction observed in newborns with hie.