Jaundice is caused by too much bilirubin, a breakdown product of red blood cells. After being processed in the liver, bilirubin is passed out of body in poo. Newborn babies have a high number of red blood cells that are broken down and replaced frequently. Their livers are less effective in removing it from the blood. Jaundice therefore occurs in most of newborn babies. Jaundice often corrects itself by the time a baby is around ...read more
Biliary Atresia (BA) affects one in every 5,000-18,000 newborns. Perinatal infection is a significant trigger, which can cause obstruction of the extrahepatic bile duct and rapid liver failure. Surgical removal of the duct remnants followed by hepatoportoenterostomy (Kasai’s procedure) is required after diagnosis. If left untreated, Biliary Atresia progression to end-stage cirrhosis usually occurs within one year. Following the Kasai’s operation, approximately 50% of the Biliary Atresia patients will require liver transplantation within the first ...read more
Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) is a developmental disorder caused by the failure of enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCC) to colonize the entire gut, leading to absence of neurons from variable lengths of the colon. Hirschsprung disease usually start in very young children, but may also occur later. The symptoms involve constipation, vomiting, abdominal pain or swelling, diarrhea, poor feeding, malnutrition, jaundice and slow growth. There are two main types of Hirschsprung disease, known as short-segment disease ...read more
Food allergy, colitis and IBD are developmentally related gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases affecting one in every 10 children. It is generally accepted that genetic and environmental factors are both involved. Our scientific partners studied cohorts of children with food allergy, colitis and IBD by incorporating single-cell RNA sequencing, whole genome-wide association study (GWAS) and immunological profiling. They discovered that hyper-inflammation is a common feature of food allergy, colitis and IBD, while deficit in cAMP response pathways, ...read more
Cirrhosis is a late-stage liver disease in which healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue and the liver is permanently damaged. Many types of liver diseases and conditions injure healthy liver cells, causing cell death and inflammation. It is widely accepted that long-term inflammation will eventually induce liver cancer, of which HCC is the most common type. HCC ranks the fifth most prevalent cancers in the world and is the third leading cause of ...read more