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Review
. 2019 Apr 22:2019:8413698.
doi: 10.1155/2019/8413698. eCollection 2019.

Recent Potential Noninvasive Biomarkers in Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Kewei Wang  1   2 , Guozhong Tao  2 , Zhen Sun  2 , Karl G Sylvester  2
Affiliations
Review

Recent Potential Noninvasive Biomarkers in Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Kewei Wang et al. Gastroenterol Res Pract. .

Abstract

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a rare but devastating gastrointestinal disease that predominately affects preterm neonates. Numerous studies have revealed that NEC is strongly associated with very low birth weight, degree of prematurity, formula feeding, infection, hypoxic/ischemic injury, and enteric dysbiosis. Given these clinical associations, the search for a deeper understanding of disease pathogenesis has led to an intense interest in the discovery and development of noninvasive biomarkers of NEC from stool, urine, and serum. Biomarkers for NEC may serve at least two general purposes of urgent unmet need: to improve diagnostic accuracy and disease prediction and to reveal the mechanism of the disease. This review will provide an overview of recent research focused on clinical NEC and highlight the advances that were made within the past five years towards the development of noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Source of the noninvasive biomarker for NEC. When intestinal epithelial cells are damaged, some cell component can be detached, mixed with the feces, and then excreted. Some proteins or cytokines are released into the bloodstream and then excreted by the kidneys.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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