Increased levels of unconjugated bilirubin, the end product of heme catabolism, impair crucial aspects of nerve cell function. In previous studies, we demonstrated that bilirubin toxicity may be due to cell death by apoptosis. To characterize the sequence of events leading to neurotoxicity, we exposed developing rat brain astrocytes and neurons to unconjugated bilirubin and investigated whether...

AIMS Veno-arterial extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is an established method to stabilize acute circulatory failure. Parameters and data on when to ideally wean circulatory support are limited. Bilirubin is a marker of end-organ damage. Therefore, the purpose of this large study was to evaluate the impact of dynamic changes of elevated bilirubin levels on survival in patients on ECLS. METHO...

Considered to be an etiologic factor of acute pancreatitis, hypersecretion of pancreatic juice and digestive enzymes is often associated with hyperbilirubinemia. We explored the intracellular mechanisms through which bilirubin affects pancreatic exocrine secretory function by examining the effect of bilirubin on isolated rat pancreatic acini. Bilirubin stimulated amylase release in a concentrat...

Therapeutic apheresis has been used for ABO-incompatible liver transplantation and for liver support therapy during liver transplantation. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis of the clinical indicator of the post operative liver failure concluded that the bilirubin between postoperative day (POD) 4 and 28 (a short-term follow-up period) might be the best predictor of liv...

Bilirubin, a powerful endogenous antioxidant, is one of the catabolites of heme oxygenases (HOs). In this study, the plasma bilirubin concentration was measured to establish bilirubin kinesis after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Furthermore, in in vitro studies, the free radical scavenging activity and antioxidant potency of bilirubin was also investigated at various concentrations, including ph...

GARTNER, LAWRENCE M., AND IRWIN M. ARIAS. Hormonal control of hepatic bilirubin transport and conjugation. Am. J. Physiol. 222(5): 1091-1099. 1972. -The role of the pituitary and thyroid glands in the regulation of hepatic transport and metabolism of bilirubin in Sprague-Dawley rats was investigated with continuous bilirubin infusion and bile collection for estimation of cumulative hepatic upta...

Bilirubin is thought to exert anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1)-dependent leukocyte migration and by suppressing the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). As VCAM-1 and iNOS are important mediators of tissue injury in the dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) murine model of inflammatory colitis, we examined whether bilirubin prevents colo...

BACKGROUND Height of portal pressure correlates with severity of alcoholic cirrhosis. Portal pressure indices are not however used routinely as predictors of survival. AIMS To examine the clinical value of a single portal pressure measurement in predicting outcome in cirrhotic patients who have bled. METHODS A series of 105 cirrhotic patients who consecutively underwent hepatic venous press...

A method for the determination of both direct and indirect serum bilirubin on the AutoAnalyzer is described which has a number of advantages over the automated method that is currently recommended. It gives total bilirubin results which are similar to those obtained with the equivalent manual method and direct bilirubin results which are usually about 10% lower.The effect of haemolysis on estim...