Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Jun 2007
Pronounced elevation of resistin correlates with severity of disease in severe sepsis and septic shock.
Resistin induces insulin resistance in mice. In humans, recent data suggest that resistin functions as a proinflammatory cytokine. Here, we studied resistin up to 2 wks after admission in patients with septic shock and/or severe sepsis. ⋯ This is the first study assessing systemic levels of resistin in patients with septic shock/severe sepsis. We show that resistin is a marker of severity of disease and possibly a mediator of the prolonged inflammatory state seen in infected critically ill patients. Further exploration of resistin as a therapeutic target and marker of disease is merited.
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Critical care medicine · Jun 2007
Clinical TrialGender differences in the innate immune response and vascular reactivity following the administration of endotoxin to human volunteers.
To determine gender differences in the innate immune response and vascular reactivity during human endotoxemia. ⋯ During experimental human endotoxemia, females showed a more pronounced proinflammatory innate immune response associated with less attenuation of norepinephrine sensitivity. These findings may be relevant in view of the profound and incompletely explained differences in incidence and outcome of sepsis among male and female patients.