Apoptosis is a prominent form of neuronal death in the neonatal hypoxia/ischemia model.In cerebral ischemia, the caspase cascade is mediated specially by caspase-3, which isone of the 10 sub-caspase family members, classified as an executioner subclass member.Activated directly by caspase-8, caspase-3 stimulates the mitochondrial pathway causingapoptosis, and it is considered a biomarker of neuronal apoptosis and of brain lesionlevels (13,25). This evidence concerns the gene CASP3 and brain ischemia.