Contribution of Inflammatory Processes to Nerve Cell Toxicity by Bilirubin and Efficacy of Potential Therapeutic Agents

Abstract

Hyperbilirubinemia is a common condition in neonatal life, where elevated levels of unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) may lead to adverse neurologic outcomes, namely in the presence of inflammatory features. In this review, we summarize recent concepts on UCB. - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Lisbon, Portugal [POCI/SAU-MMO/55955/2004, PTDC/SAU-NEU/64385/2006, SFRH/BPD/26390/2006]; FEDER. - The authors gratefully acknowledge POCI/SAU-MMO/55955/2004 and PTDC/SAU-NEU/64385/2006 grants, from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Lisbon, Portugal and FEDER (to DB) and SFRH/BPD/26390/2006 from FCT (to AF).