That BDNF may be a critical neuroprotective mediator is unsurprising given its neuroprotective properties have been identified in a number of neuropathologies including HI (Chen et al., 2013), IVH (Ahn et al., 2017; Ko et al., 2018), meningitis (Bifrare et al., 2005), and traumatic brain injury (Wurzelmann et al., 2017). Here, BDNF is linked to meningitis.