Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510630, China.
J Clin Neurosci. 2011 Oct;18(10):1355-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2011.02.023. Epub 2011 Jul 22.
Bilirubin is the end product of heme catabolism by heme oxygenases. Although bilirubin has long been considered as a toxic waste product, it is now recognized as an endogenous antioxidant. It has been reported that bilirubin is an effective treatment in both acute and chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) disease models. However, the relationship between bilirubin and multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been fully explored. The serum bilirubin concentrations were measured in 340 individuals comprising 88 healthy subjects, 133 patients with MS and 119 patients with cerebral infarction. Serum total bilirubin (Tbil), direct bilirubin (Dbil) and indirect bilirubin (Ibil) concentrations were significantly lower in patients with MS than in either patients with cerebral infarction or healthy controls (p<0.001). The correlation identified between bilirubin and MS was still highly significant when the effect of gender was eliminated. Among patients with MS, Tbil, Dbil and Ibil concentrations were lower in patients with MS with longer duration (>2 years), less disabling disease (Expanded Disability Status Scale score<3), and inactive MRI appearance, although the differences did not reach statistical significance. Our results suggest that there are reduced serum bilirubin concentrations in patients with MS.
胆红素是血红素氧合酶分解血红素的终产物。尽管胆红素长期以来一直被认为是一种有毒的废物产物，但现在已被认为是一种内源性抗氧化剂。据报道，胆红素在急性和慢性实验性自身免疫性脑脊髓炎（EAE）疾病模型中均为有效治疗方法。然而，胆红素与多发性硬化症（MS）之间的关系尚未得到充分探索。在 340 名个体中测量了血清胆红素浓度，其中包括 88 名健康受试者，133 名 MS 患者和 119 名脑梗死患者。MS 患者的血清总胆红素（Tbil），直接胆红素（Dbil）和间接胆红素（Ibil）浓度明显低于脑梗死患者或健康对照组（p<0.001）。当消除性别影响时，胆红素与 MS 之间的相关性仍然高度显著。在 MS 患者中，Tbil，Dbil 和 Ibil 浓度在病程较长（>2 年），残疾程度较轻（扩展残疾状况量表评分<3）和无活动 MRI 表现的 MS 患者中较低，尽管差异未达到统计学意义。我们的结果表明，MS 患者的血清胆红素浓度降低。
