Grant: Project Grant

Sepsis (blood poisoning) is a medical emergency where the body mounts an overwhelming response to infection. It has a very high mortality rate, and believed to be responsible for a staggering one in five deaths worldwide. Patients over the age of 60 make up over 60% of all sepsis hospitalizations in Canada, and the older the patient with sepsis, the greater the risk of dying. Yet, despite the fact that the majority of patients who develop sepsis are elderly, preclinical studies in this area mainly use young and otherwise healthy animals. Understanding how sepsis affects aged animals is therefore an important knowledge gap that needs to be addressed. Among other things, sepsis can cause damage to the heart and blood vessels, and if left untreated, can interfere with delivery of blood (and hence oxygen and nutrients) to organs like the kidney. Kidney injury is a common complication in sepsis, and a major contributor to its high mortality rates. This study aims to examine how blood flow to the kidney is affected in sepsis, and to study the mechanisms that leads to kidney injury in both young and aged mice. We will also test new drug combinations to improve blood flow in sepsis, with the goal of reducing or altogether preventing the kidney injury in these young and aged models. This study will equip physicians with a better understanding of how sepsis affects elderly patients, and may provide new treatments to prevent kidney injury in this terrible disease.