Erratum

In the article "Caffeine as a Treatment for Perinatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury: The Potential Risks and Benefits" [Dev Neurosci. 2025; Online ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1159/000545126] by Zhou et al., the authors noted that there were several errors within their article. The corrections are listed below.In the section "Adenosine and Adenosine Receptors" currently reads, "By contrast, A2 adenosine receptor knockout mice that were subjected to common carotid ligation and hypoxia at P7 had more severe brain injury with worse performance in motor behavioural tests, compared with wild-type mice [30]." Should correctly read, "By contrast, A2A adenosine receptor knockout mice that were subjected to common carotid ligation and hypoxia at P7 had more severe brain injury with worse performance in motor behavioural tests, compared with wild-type mice [30]."Reference 47 was erroneously included and is not an intended citation, this reference should be deleted. Under the subheading, "Caffeine: Perspectives and Future Directions", the following sentences should correctly read:It is unclear why studies in rodents suggest benefit with prophylactic caffeine, before HI, whereas limited benefit with prophylactic caffeine in lambs [39], and deleterious effects of adenosine A1 receptor blockade [20]. Speculatively, this difference may reflect that these rodent studies used inhalational hypoxia and so caffeine may help avoid apnea [48] and so reduce the risk of deep hypoxemia. Regardless of the precise mechanism, these findings strongly suggest that considerable caution is needed before considering human studies.The following two errors table 1 should be corrected. For the study Yang et al., 2022, under key findings was missing before "Microglia M2 polarisation". For the study, Sabir et al., 2023 and in row 8 the study year was corrected to 2023.The corrected table is shown below:Table 1.Summary of preclinical studies on the effects of caffeine for perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injuryStudySpecies and ageN per groupInsultDose and timingKey findingsDi Martino et al. [34] (2020)P10 micen = 8-10Common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (1 h)Caffeine 5 mg/kg, i.p. immediately after HI↓ Grey and white matter lesion size↓ Amoeboid microglia and apoptotic cellsn = 6-8Caffeine started at 6, 12 or 24 h after HINo neuroprotective effectWinerdal et al. [35] (2017)P10 micen = 13-29Common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (1 h)Caffeine 5 mg/kg i.p. immediately after HI↓ Brain atrophy↑ Time on the rotorod behavioral testPotter et al. [37] (2018)P6 ratsn = 6Common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (2 h)Caffeine citrate 20 mg/kg i.p. administration immediately after HI↑ Performance in rotarod and water maze behavioral tests↑ Silent gap detection (speech detection)Bernis et al. [38] (2025)P7 ratsn = 5-50Common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (90 min)Caffeine citrate 15, 20 or 40 mg/kg i.p. administration immediately before HI or 40 mg/kg immediately after HI repeated at 24 and 48 h↓ Brain area loss (greatest effect with 40 mg/kg before HI)↓ Microgliosis (40 mg/kg before HI)n = 14Caffeine citrate 120 mg/kg before HI and at 24 h↑ MortalityYang et al. [33] (2022)P3 ratsn = 6Common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (2.5 h)Caffeine citrate 20 mg/kg/day, i.p. from day 2-6↓ Ventricle dilation↑ MBP expression↓ NLRP3 inflammasome activation↑ Microglia M2 polarisation↓ Microglial activation and microglia M1 polarizationKilicdag et al. [32] (2014)P7 ratsn = 8Common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (2 h)Caffeine citrate 20 mg/kg/day, i.p. immediately before HI and at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h after HI↓ Cell loss in hippocampus and cortexAlexander et al. [36] (2013)P7 rats (males only)n = 8-15Common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (2 h)Caffeine 10 mg/kg i.p. immediately after HIPartially ↑ cortical volume↑ Performance in morris water mazeSabir et al. [39] (2023)P7 ratsn = 12Common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (1.5 h)Caffeine 40 mg/kg i.p. 1 h before hypoxia and at 24 and 48 h↓ Brain area lossMike et al. [40] (2024)Gestational day 141-143 fetal sheepn = 4-41Umbilical cord occlusion, until the onset of asysole1 g i.v. to ewe before delivery, 20 mg/kg caffeine citrate, 2 doses of 10 mg/kg i.v. at 24 and 48 h (lambs)↔ Hippocampal neuronal survival↓ Neuronal apoptosis hippocampus (CA3 only)↑ Feeding and activity↓ Microgliosisn = 8Caffeine citrate 60 mg/kg i.v. and 30 mg/kg at 24 and 48 h (lambs only)↑ Mortality.