ABSTRACT
This study was an attempt to investigate the lipid peroxidation represented by lipofuscin in correlation to some serum antioxidants levels such as vitamins A and E, ceruloplasmin and bilirubin in jaundiced neonates suffering from oxygen free radical induced diseases [ORD] in comparison to a control group. This case-control study was conducted in the NICU, Gynecology and Obstetric Department, Ain Shams University Hospitals in the period from December 1999 to January 2002. This study included 107 jaundiced neonates diagnosed as necrotizing enterocolitis, chronic lung disease, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and neonatal sepsis [ORD Patients group]. They were classified into two subgroups: subgroup I, [51 term and preterm babies] with non pathological level of bilirubin i.e not needing interference and subgroup II, [56 newlyborn term and preterm infants] with pathological level of bilirubin i.e needing interference. One hundred and seven apparently healthy neonates were enrolled in this study as a control group. The results of this study revealed that the mean serum levels of vitamins A and E, ceruloplasmin, and hemoglobin were highly significantly decreased while, the mean serum lipofuscin and bilirubin levels were highly significantly increased in the ORD patients group compared to controls [p