FIF leads an unprecedented scientific project mapping bilirubin-induced brain damage.
“Thanks to a multidisciplinary strategy,” states the Foundation’s Scientific Director, Prof. Claudio Tiribelli, “the project aims to achieve three fundamental outcomes that would pave the way for the use of deep brain stimulation as a new therapeutic opportunity.”
The Italian Liver Foundation (FIF), internationally recognized for its expertise in the study of kernicterus (Kernicterus Spectrum Disorder – KSD), has been selected by the Blue’s Gift Foundation to carry out a unique research project, capable of revolutionizing knowledge of the neurological consequences of neonatal exposure to bilirubin.
The project stems from the wish of a mother who, after the loss of her son – Nathanael Blue, affectionately known as “Blue” – affected by KSD, chose to transform her pain into a gift for the future of other children. This extraordinary gesture led to the creation of the Blue’s Gift Foundation and to the launch of a collaboration with the Italian Liver Foundation to pursue an objective never before attempted: the creation of the first complete molecular map of bilirubin-induced brain damage, made possible through the donation of her son’s brain to FIF, a decision reflecting not only profound human sensitivity but also extraordinary scientific vision.