Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Background: Sepsis (blood poisoning) is a medical condition in which overwhelming infection in the body can no longer be contained by the body's natural defenses. This infection can start in almost any organ and can spread throughout the body. If untreated, sepsis leads to low blood pressure and decreased blood flow to organs, which can result in injury and death. Sepsis is a common cause of Intensive Care admission and is the primary cause of death of hospitalized patients in Canada and abroad. The mortality rate in sepsis is very high at 30% overall; if sepsis progresses to septic shock, the mortality increases to over 50%. Treatment of septic patients is difficult, and medications used to prevent dangerously low blood pressure do so by constricting blood vessels, which can make things worse for septic patients because they also reduce blood flow to organs. Therefore, new treatments to prevent blood vessel dysfunction and improve organ blood flow without causing dangerously low blood pressure are needed. Objectives of the project: There are two objectives of this work. The first objective is to thoroughly examine how blood pressure and organ blood flow patterns change with sepsis. These experiments will help us to identify the organs that are the most susceptible to reduced blood flow and damage in sepsis. In addition, we can decipher what causes blood vessels to become dysfunctional in sepsis, so we can devise better diagnostic tests. The second objective is to test a new therapeutic given after the onset of sepsis and study whether it can prevent blood vessel dysfunction, improve organ blood flow and function, and finally improve survival in septic mice. Significance: This study will equip physicians with a better understanding of the patient's response to sepsis with the goal of developing new treatments to improve the care of critically ill patients.