Looking for ‘help’ signals in the blood of newborns with HIE | Children's National

Looking for ‘help’ signals in the blood of newborns with HIE | Children's National

Looking for ‘help’ signals in the blood of newborns with HIE

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) occuts when blood and oxygen flow are disrupted around the time of birth and is a serious birth complication for full-term infants.

According to recent research from An N. Massaro, M.D., and colleagues, measuring biomarkers that are produced as the body responds to inflammation and injury, such as IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10, may help to pinpoint newborns who are more vulnerable to suffering lasting brain injury due to disrupted oxygen delivery and blood flow.