Perinatal
asphyxia and neonatal
encephalopathy remain major causes of neonatal mortality, despite the improved availability of diagnostic and therapeutic tools, contributing to neurological and
intellectual disabilities worldwide. An approach using a combination of clinical data, neuroimaging, and biochemical parameters is the current strategy towards the improved diagnosis and prognosis of the outcome in neonatal
hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) using bioengineering methods. Traditional
biomarkers are of little use in this multifactorial and variable phenotype-presenting clinical condition. Novel systems of biology-based "omics" approaches (genomics, transcriptome proteomics, and metabolomics) may help to identify
biomarkers associated with brain and other tissue
injuries, predicting the disease severity in HIE.
Biomarker studies using omics technologies will likely be a key feature of future neuroprotective treatment methods and will help to assess the successful treatment and long-term efficacy of the intervention. This article reviews the roles of different omics as
biomarkers of HIE and outlines the existing knowledge of our current understanding of the clinical use of different omics molecules as novel neonatal
brain injury biomarkers, which may lead to improved interventions related to the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of HIE.