Effect of blue light on hyperbilirubinaemia.

Photocatabolism of labeled bilirubin in the congenitally jaundiced (Gunn) rat

“…This hypothesis is supported by the finding that, during phototherapy, the concentration of bilirubin in bile rose to a maximum value just below the minimum concentration attained in the plasma (Table II). This limiting condition may explain the long noted inability of phototherapy to completely eradicate the hyperbilirubinemia (37,38).…”

“…Differences in this response in the four animals may relate to strain differences, since the two rats with little change in plasma bilirubin were the hooded variety, whereas the rats which responded well to phototherapy were albinos. Such variations in bilirubin production could account for the diversity of responses of plasma bilirubin observed during phototherapy of Gunn rats (37) and human infants (37,38).…”

Changes in Blood Flow in the Skin and Muscle with Phototherapy

“…Although phototherapy has been used successfully to prevent and treat hyperbilirubinemia [6][7][8]14, 161, little is known of the photobiology of the skin of neonates when they are subjected to such therapy. The reactions between the exposure of the infant to the radiation and the occurrence of photo-oxidation of bilirubin have not been clearly explained, although the process of photo-oxidation is stated to occur in the skin [18].…”

Phototherapy: From Ancient Egypt to the New Millennium

“…Because of the optics of the skin and the absorbance and photochemical properties of bilirubin, the best wavelengths to use for phototherapy seem to be in the blue-green region near 480 to 500 nm, as used in some of the earliest studies. 16 Although the relative amounts of individual bilirubin photoisomers produced in humans during phototherapy are different from those produced in the rat, the basic mechanisms in the two species seem to be the same.…”