Bilirubin encephalopathy

Bilirubin encephalopathy, is a clinal condition in neonates caused by increased levels of billirubin that is accumulated within the brain. ^[1] This disease is a progression of Neonatal jaundice if it is not identified and treated. ^[2] Bilirubin is a naturally occurring substance in the body of humans and many other animals, but it is toxic to brain cells when its concentration in the blood is too high, a condition known as hyperbilirubinemia. Hyperbilirubinemia may cause bilirubin to accumulate in the grey matter of the central nervous system, potentially causing irreversible neurological damage. Depending on the level of exposure, the effects range from clinically unnoticeable to severe brain damage and even death.

When hyperbilirubinemia increases past a mild level, it leads to jaundice, raising the risk of progressing to Bilirubin encephalopathy. When this happens in adults, it is usually because of liver problems. Newborns are especially vulnerable to hyperbilirubinemia-induced neurological damage, because in the earliest days of life, the still-developing liver is heavily exercised by the breakdown of fetal hemoglobin as it is replaced with adult hemoglobin and the blood–brain barrier is not as developed. Mildly elevated serum bilirubin levels are common in newborns, and neonatal jaundice is not unusual, but bilirubin levels must be carefully monitored in case they start to climb, in which case more aggressive therapy is needed, usually via light therapy but sometimes even via exchange transfusion.