Metabolomic Approaches to Understanding Neonatal Health and Disease

Metabolomics is revolutionizing neonatal research by offering a detailed view of the biochemical processes that govern early life adaptation. The neonatal period is a crucial stage characterized by rapid metabolic adjustments as newborns transition from intrauterine to extrauterine environments. Disruptions in this transition, caused by factors such as prematurity, perinatal asphyxia, congenital anomalies, or maternal metabolic disorders, can generate both immediate and long-term health consequences. Recent advances in high-resolution analytical techniques such as liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and flow injection analysis mass spectrometry have made it possible to measure hundreds of metabolites from minimal-volume neonatal specimens. These developments provide unique opportunities to identify metabolic predictors of disease and refine early diagnostic and preventive strategies. However, major challenges persist. The establishment of age and maturity-specific metabolic reference ranges remains incomplete, and distinguishing normal biochemical adaptation from disease-associated metabolic alterations in neonates is still difficult. Furthermore, translating metabolomic profiles into clinically actionable insights for neonatal intensive care settings remains an evolving challenge.This Research Topic aims to gather interdisciplinary contributions that explore how targeted and untargeted metabolomic profiling can enhance the understanding of neonatal physiology and pathology. The goal is to bridge the gap between experimental approaches and clinical applicability by integrating perspectives from neonatology, analytical chemistry, and data science. It seeks to answer key questions regarding how metabolomic signatures can support early detection of neonatal disorders, how maternal health conditions influence neonatal metabolic adaptation, and how advanced data modeling can facilitate individualized neonatal care. Ultimately, the objective is to strengthen evidence-based approaches that transform metabolomic discoveries into effective diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic tools.The scope of this Research Topic encompasses both fundamental and applied research exploring metabolomics in neonatal health. To gather further insights into how metabolomics can improve childhood outcomes, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Establishing gestational age and maturity-specific metabolomic reference ranges in neonatal biofluids• Identifying biomarkers of neonatal conditions including neonatal sepsis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis, retinopathy of prematurity, and neonatal encephalopathy• Defining metabolic effects of maternal conditions such as obesity, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes on neonatal health• Applying pharmacometabolomics to evaluate drug metabolism, safety, and therapeutic response in neonates• Integrating metabolomics with proteomics, lipidomics, or genomics to achieve a systems-level understanding of neonatal diseases• Developing standardized analytical workflows, sample processing, and data integration systems optimized for small neonatal specimens• Using artificial intelligence and computational modeling to analyze metabolomic datasets and develop neonatal outcome prediction modelsWe welcomes many article types, including original research, systematic review, methods, review, clinical trial, study protocol, mini review, perspective, data report, brief research report and opinions focused on the integration of metabolomics into neonatal and perinatal medicine. Topic editors: Victoria Lima-Rogel, Cinzia Auriti, Mariana Salgado-Bustamante Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81135/metabolomic-approaches-to-understanding-neonatal-health-and-disease