N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Concentrations Are Markedly Higher in the Umbilical Cord Blood of Newborns than in Their Mothers

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Abstract
Natriuretic peptides are well-established markers in adult heart failure patients (1) and may also be useful for identifying neonates or children with cardiac diseases. Recent studies demonstrated high N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations in healthy neonates with a subsequent rapid decrease within several days (2)(3). However, in the transition from fetal to neonatal life, the physiologic role of natriuretic peptides is not fully understood. Furthermore, it is currently not known whether natriuretic peptides in the fetal circulation derive from the fetus itself or whether there is a placental exchange of maternal natriuretic peptides. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine the NT-proBNP concentrations in healthy neonates and to compare their concentrations with the values for their respective mothers to indirectly demonstrate a possible placental NT-proBNP exchange. From 100 neonates delivered consecutively between November 2003 and February 2004 (Gynaecologic and Paediatric Hospital Linz), we compared …