Role of the gut in sepsis

A recent study by Amro Ilaiway, MD, a Duke endocrinology fellow working with DMPI Associate Director David D'Alessio, found that bacterial translocation from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract may contribute to the multi-organ failure associated with sepsis. Focused on metabolic changes associated with sepsis in tissues of the ileum, jejunum, skeletal muscle, liver, and lung, the study identified clues about the causes and progression of the condition.

Ilaiwy is the first author of The American Journal of Pathology study describing the metabolic relationships associated with sepsis. The goal of the study, Ilaiwy says, was to attempt to better understand the organ failure process associated with sepsis and to help develop more effective therapies that may be able to target the gut. “As a clinician and a researcher, I also look at the bigger picture of what we can do with these findings,” Ilaiwy says. “The next step should be to look into therapeutic targets in the gut to try to identify an agent that could slow down these changes in the gut. If we can protect the gut during sepsis, we may achieve better outcomes.”

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