Metabolomics in Neonatology

Abstract

Throughout recent decades, the incidence of preterm birth has risen worldwide, and although the majority of preterm neonates now survive infancy, many suffer from debilitating morbidities in the short term and/or increased disease risks in the long term. Traditional diagnostic biomarkers suffer from considerable confounders, limiting their use in the early identification of diseases. There is a need to develop novel biomarkers that can identify, in real time, the evolution of organ dysfunction in an early diagnostic, monitoring, and prognostic fashion. Use of "omics," particularly metabolomics, may provide valuable information regarding functional pathways underlying different pathologies and prediction of clinical outcomes. The emerging knowledge generated by the application of metabolomics in neonatology provides new insights that can help to identify markers of early diagnosis, disease progression, response to treatment, and new therapeutic targets. In this chapter, we review the current knowledge of different metabolomics technologies in neonatal-perinatal medicine, including biomarker discovery, defining as yet unrecognized biologic therapeutic targets, and linking of metabolomics to relevant standard indices and long-term outcomes.

Metabolic responses in neonatal sepsis—A systematic review of human metabolomic studies

“…Only one study provided information about medications other than antibiotics 19 . There was also little information about the quality checks for the sampling material and stability of metabolites over time 50 . All this limit the quality of evidence regarding our report on significant alterations in metabolomic profiles during neonatal sepsis.…”

“…19 There was also little information about the quality checks for the sampling material and stability of metabolites over time. 50 All this limit the quality of evidence regarding our report on significant alterations in metabolomic profiles during neonatal sepsis. None of the included publications evaluated the diagnostic value of metabolomics compared with traditional diagnostic tools.…”