Discovery of cognitive impairment mechanism in patients with sepsis

Author: Xing Zhang  

Organization: School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering

Form of Achievement: journal papers

Introduction: there are about 3 million patients diagnosed with sepsis every year in China, and the serious deterioration of cognitive ability is the main sequela of sepsis patients. However, the pathogenesis is not clear in this field worldwide, and so far, there is no targeted treatment. Therefore, it is very important to dig deep into the impairment mechanism of cognitive ability and find a target drug for treating the deterioration of cognitive ability of sepsis patients. The research firstly analyzed the deterioration mechanism of severe cognitive impairment, and it reveals that the cleavage fragment of heparan sulfate oligosaccharide on the surface of vascular endothelial cells in vivo is the key factor leading to the cognitive impairment of sepsis patients, thus providing a new target for the treatment of sepsis sequelae. The research was published in PNAS (PNAS, 2019, 116, 9208-9213), and it was reported in detail by the International Anesthesia Research Society and Neuroscience News, an authoritative media in the international neuroscience field. The funding source of the project is the United Fund of National Institutes of Health.