Shi H, et al. - Researchers examined the bilirubin levels of 100 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and 140 healthy controls to assess if the bilirubin level is a protective factor in UC. In addition, they investigated the predictive value of the bilirubin level. Compared to the control group, the UC group displayed lower mean levels of the total bilirubin (TBIL) and indirect bilirubin (IBIL); the mild activity subgroup had significantly higher TBIL and IBIL levels than the moderate and severe activity subgroups. Findings suggest that because of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, TBIL and especially IBIL may be independent protective factors for UC. They noted a moderate predictive value of a low level of IBIL for UC, and suggest a possible utility of an IBIL level less than 6.735 µmol/l as a defining index for predicting UC.