Background: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of serum S100B as a clinical marker of intracranial lesions in newborns.
Methods: The study involved 22 normal and 40 diseased newborns. Serum S100B level was measured on days 1 and 6 in normal newborns. Diseased newborns were classified into four groups: birth asphyxia with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE); birth asphyxia without HIE; intracranial hemorrhage (mainly subarachnoid); and brain malformation. In each group the serum S100B level was measured on days 1, 2 and 6. Development was also assessed to investigate the relation between serum S100B level and prognosis at 18 months after birth.
Results: In normal newborns, serum S100B level was significantly higher in those with liquor to meconium stain than in those without. In diseased newborns, serum S100B level on day 1 was significantly higher in the HIE group than in all other groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in serum S100B level between control and intracranial hemorrhage, or brain malformation. In newborns with birth asphyxia, serum S100B level was significantly higher in severe birth asphyxia than in mild or moderate birth asphyxia; two newborns with serum S100B level > or =10 microg/L on days 1 and 2 developed cerebral palsy, others with no increase of S100B were all developing normally.
Conclusions: Serum S100B level is a useful marker of acute perinatal brain damage, and is particularly valuable for fetal distress. In newborns with birth asphyxia, serum S100B levels serve as a biochemical marker of HIE.