Cardiometabolic risk in childhood : could bilirubin act as a circadian clock-related mediator via autonomic dysfunction?

Meira e Cruz, Miguel; Rocha, Isabel; Bruni, Oliviero

http://hdl.handle.net/10451/42503

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
Carta_ed.pdf		115.92 KB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Meira e Cruz, Miguel

Rocha, Isabel

Bruni, Oliviero

Abstract(s)

The interesting paper from Yu and colleagues on the association of neonatal serum bilirubin and childhood hypertension recently published in Plos One, flagged up a plausible role of bilirubin as a mediator of hypertension in later life. This is a highly important topic since hypertension, a main cause of cardiometabolic associated morbidity and mortality, may affect 2% to 4% of children. Bilirubin is a toxic endproduct of heme catabolism in the body, commonly seen in newborns and causing jaundice. It is detoxified mainly in the liver by means of several steps involving circadian regulated enzymatic processes. A balanced autonomic output to the liver is crucial for maintenance of the circadian rhythmicity that ensures the normal function of liver metabolic enzymes and glucose level.