Sepsis-induced immune dysfunction: can immune therapies reduce mortality? |
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Authors: | Matthew J Delano Peter A Ward |
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Institution: | 1.Department of Surgery, Division of Acute Care Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.;2.Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. |
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Abstract: | Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response induced by an infection, leading to organ dysfunction and mortality. Historically, sepsis-induced organ dysfunction and lethality were attributed to the interplay between inflammatory and antiinflammatory responses. With advances in intensive care management and goal-directed interventions, early sepsis mortality has diminished, only to surge later after “recovery” from acute events, prompting a search for sepsis-induced alterations in immune function. Sepsis is well known to alter innate and adaptive immune responses for sustained periods after clinical “recovery,” with immunosuppression being a prominent example of such alterations. Recent studies have centered on immune-modulatory therapy. These efforts are focused on defining and reversing the persistent immune cell dysfunction that is associated with mortality long after the acute events of sepsis have resolved. |
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