MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/ Researchers from the Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Perinatology at the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation and from The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have proposed a new way by which the respiratory pathologies of newborns can be diagnosed using urine protein samples. The results of the study have been published recently in the Journal of Proteomics.
The pathologies in the respiratory system of premature babies can be caused both by failures in the development process or by infection. Now, the infectious pathologies of breathing rank first among causes of death for premature babies. To pinpoint a precise diagnosis, invasive methods are normally used, i.e. the methods which destroy the tissues of newborns, e.g. blood sampling or biopsy.
Now, researchers have uncovered a new non-invasive way of arriving at a diagnosis where all the needed information is taken from the baby’s urine. In this new technique, scientists analyzed newborns’ urine with respiratory diseases. By using liquid chromatography and mass-spectrometry, the urine is separated and checked for the biomarkers, proteins specific for infection pathologies, i.e. congenital pneumonia and for the non-infection pathologies, i.e. tachypnea or infant respiratory distress syndrome.
Previously, scientists published a study where they had suggested diagnosing pre-eclampsia, a pathology among pregnant women, through urine samples. Now, the authors have pioneered a breakthrough by using the same method to track the state of premature newborns.