Scientists at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset have discovered an antibody that they say can significantly reduce inflammation in the lungs of patients suffering from sepsis.
Their findings, published in the medical journal Critical Care, suggest that antibodies that reduce the effectiveness of the inflammation agent Osteopontin may also be used as a treatment for sepsis, through which the entire body becomes inflamed.
“The findings of this study are exciting and promising,” said Dr. Ping Wang, director of the Feinstein Institute’s Laboratory of Surgical Research and head of the institute’s Center for Translational Research, in a statement.
“They show that we have discovered a new treatment that could prevent acute lung injury in patients suffering from sepsis – this could save many lives,” he said.
Sepsis can be caused by minor infections or wounds, typically in patients who are very young or very old, according to a 2012 report from the International Sepsis Forum.
Approximately 750,000 people in North America develop sepsis each year, with similar figures in Europe, the report said.
North Shore-LIJ Health System officials said between 28 and 50 percent of patients who develop severe sepsis die from the condition.
Wang, who led the research, tested a hypothesis wherein Osteopontin-neutralizing antibodies were successfully used to reduce inflammation resulting from acute lung injury.
According to a news release about the research from the health system, the role of Osteopontin in acute lung injury caused by sepsis has been mostly unexplored.
