Pediatrics · 3 h ago
Blood microRNA changes persist for 48 hours in neonatal encephalopathy
A single-centre observational study of 66 term neonates found altered blood microRNA expression in infants with neonatal encephalopathy compared with controls. Some changes remained detectable for up to 48 hours after birth using dried blood spot microsampling, but the study did not establish diagnostic accuracy or clinical utility.
- Eight microRNAs differed at the first sampling time point.
- Four microRNAs remained altered across 48 hours.
- Study used dried blood spot microsampling.
- Diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility were not established.
Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) lacks reliable biochemical markers for early diagnosis. Researchers at Cork University Maternity Hospital studied term infants born from 2017 to 2020, collecting dried blood spot samples within 6, 24 and 48 hours after delivery. The cohort included 53 infants with NE—25 with mild, 22 with moderate and six with severe encephalopathy—and 13 controls. They measured 19 candidate microRNAs and three housekeeping microRNAs; 105 samples were analyzed across the time points.
At the first time point, comparison of 28 infants with NE and 13 controls showed altered expression of eight microRNAs, including miR-205-5p. Across the postnatal time points, four microRNAs showed persistent alterations in infants with NE.
The findings suggest that microRNA differences can be measured in minimally invasively collected samples during the first two days after birth. However, this small, single-centre study identifies candidate markers rather than validating a diagnostic test: it reports no diagnostic accuracy or evidence that testing improves decisions or outcomes. Larger studies are needed before these profiles can guide bedside diagnosis.
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Pediatric Research: Persistent postnatal alterations in microRNA expression in neonatal encephalopathy ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.