ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Neurology
This article is part of the Research TopicNew Frontiers in Pediatric Movement DisordersView all 3 articles
Impact of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia on Peripheral Neuromuscular Development: Evidence from Muscle Fiber Conduction Velocity Measurements
Provisionally accepted
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, China
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Background: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a common condition that may impair neurodevelopment, yet its impact on peripheral neuromuscular function remains underexplored. Objective: This study aimed to assess the effects of hyperbilirubinemia on muscle fiber conduction velocity (MFCV) in neonates using surface electromyography (sEMG). Methods: MFCV was estimated from tibialis anterior sEMG recordings during passive and isometric contractions in neonates with and without hyperbilirubinemia. Global and local time-delay strategies were applied. Z-score analysis and repeated-measures ANOVA were used to compare groups, while regression analysis examined MFCV temporal trends. Neuromuscular Impact of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia Results: The hyperbilirubinemia group exhibited significantly lower MFCV and Z-score values than controls (p < 0.001). Control infants showed characteristic spatial and temporal MFCV patterns, including arch-shaped conduction profiles and time-dependent declines, which were absent in the hyperbilirubinemia group. Disorganized innervation zone (IZ) distributions and reduced conduction variability further indicated impaired neuromuscular development. Conclusions: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia may alter peripheral neuromuscular maturation. sEMG-based MFCV estimation may serve as a potential sensitive and noninvasive electrophysiological biomarker for detecting bilirubin-related neuromuscular impairment in early infancy.
Keywords: Innervation zone, Motor unit activity, Muscle fiber conduction velocity, Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia, Peripheral neuromuscular development, surface electromyography
Received: 23 Aug 2025; Accepted: 10 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zhao, Song, Feng, Kou and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tieyan Wang
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