Letter to the Editor - Value of Sialic Acid Level in Newborn Infants with Perinatal Asphyxia

Gangliosides are carbohydrate-rich complex lipids of large size and great complexity which are found in cell membranes, especially neuronal cell membranes. The hydrophobic moiety, consisting of sphingosine and fatty acid (stearic acid, 95%), is inserted into the membrane, while the hydrophilic moiety, consisting of sialic acid [N-asetile noraminic acid (NANA)] and other carbohydrates, protrudes towards the extracellular fluid.¹ Although the molecular mechanism(s) and the substrates for the neurotrophic activity of the gangliosides are not fully understood, the published experimental work suggests that monosialoganglioside (GM1) has antineurotoxic, neuroprotective, and neurorestorative effects on various central neurotransmitter systems.² In this article, we studied serum total sialic acid (TSA) levels in newborn infants with perinatal asphyxia to determine whether there was a relationship between perinatal asphyxia and TSA. To our knowledge this is the first study in the literature.