Markers of oxidative injury in the cerebrospinal fluid of a premature infant with meningitis and periventricular leukomalacia.

Free radicals have been hypothesized to play a key role in the evolution of periventricular leukomalacia, although direct evidence of oxidative injury in the human infant is lacking. This case report is the first to demonstrate a marked elevation in the levels of lipid and protein oxidative products in the cerebrospinal fluid during the evolution of periventricular leukomalacia in a premature infant with meningitis.