Impact of maternal health and stress on steroid hormone profiles in human milk: Implications for infant development.

Steroid hormones are biologically active factors in human milk (HM) that influence the physical and mental development of infants. Critically, maternal psychosocial stress has been associated with changes in HM steroid composition. This work aimed to characterize the steroid hormone profile of HM and pasteurized donor human milk (DHM) and assess the interplay between maternal physical and psychosocial status, the HM steroid profile, and infant outcomes.

Improving insights from metabolomic functional analysis combining multivariate tools.

Background: Metabolomics is a scientific field that relies on the comprehensive analysis of metabolites to provide direct insights into functional processes in biological systems. Metabolomic data provides valuable insights into the functional processes of biological systems, often analyzed through univariate and multivariate approaches, and well as with functional or pathway analysis using different methods such as mummichog. Yet, the integration of results from these sources to aid the interpretation of their biological significance remains challenging.

Portable point-of-care surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy for the quantification of glutathione in whole blood microsamples.

Glutathione (GSH) is a non-protein tripeptide thiol that plays a prominent role in oxidative stress defense. GSH concentration is particularly critical in the neonatal period, especially for premature newborns that face increased susceptibility to oxidative stress. Monitoring GSH levels provides valuable insights into newborn health, helping to tailor care to their specific needs.

Metabolomics 2023 workshop report: moving toward consensus on best QA/QC practices in LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics.

Introduction: During the Metabolomics 2023 conference, the Metabolomics Quality Assurance and Quality Control Consortium (mQACC) presented a QA/QC workshop for LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics.

Objectives: The Best Practices Working Group disseminated recent findings from community forums and discussed aspects to include in a living guidance document.

Methods: Presentations focused on reference materials, data quality review, metabolite identification/annotation and quality assurance.

Searching molecular biomarkers correlating with BSID-III at 24 months in infants with neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

An early prediction of outcomes of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (NE) is of key importance in reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity. The objectives were (i) to analyze the characteristics of miRNA expression and metabolic patterns of neonates with NE and (ii) to assess their predictive performance for neurodevelopmental outcomes. Plasma samples from moderate/severe NE patients (N = 92) of the HYPOTOP study were collected before, during, and after therapeutic hypothermia (TH) and compared to a control group (healthy term infants).