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Sepsis is the leading cause of death worldwide with limited treatment options

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release

LONDON, ON – Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body’s response to an infection triggers excessive inflammation. The inflammatory response can cause damage to organs such as the heart, liver, lungs and brain. While there are currently limited treatments for sepsis, researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute are working to change that by examining the use of carbon monoxide-releasing molecules to treat patients. “This is an unusual approach that is looking at using carbon monoxide which is the infamous gas molecule,” says Dr. Gediminas Cepinskas, Scientist and Director of the Centre for Critical Illness Research at Lawson. “If administered and used in small non-toxic concentrations, carbon monoxide can offer very potent protective and anti-inflammatory effects.”

In studies on the subject, including the most recent one published in the journal of Experimental Biology and Medicine, the research team was able to demonstrate efficacy in using carbon monoxide-releasing molecules to protect individual cells in the liver and lungs of sepsis induced inflammation in preclinical models. “We have been working on isolated organs and organ specific cells to test carbon monoxide-releasing molecules to narrow down which specific cells are more sensitive to treatment and which biochemical pathways are involved,” Says Dr. Cepinskas. “We are making great progress in our work and have had success in addressing the efficacy of carbon monoxide-releasing molecules in preclinical models.”

Dr. Cepinskas is one of just a few scientists worldwide studying carbon monoxide-releasing molecules to treat inflammatory conditions such as sepsis. While carbon monoxide is commonly known as dangerous, using it in a controlled manner does not pose a danger and may have therapeutic potential. “Our immune system is usually our defense system, but with sepsis it becomes so activated it starts to attack our own cell tissues, resulting in injury and dysfunction of the affected organs,” explains Dr. Cepinskas. “Almost each and every cell in our body naturally produces carbon monoxide which is used in defense against harmful and injured stimuli. We are taking advantage of this knowledge and currently we are the only lab in Canada working on this potential carbon monoxide-based therapy.”

Dr. Cepinskas is also collaborating with clinicians at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) to study the use of carbon monoxide-releasing molecules to treat limb compartment syndrome and to improve organ transplantation.

The research team, which has patents in the area of carbon monoxide-releasing molecules, is now working with the pharmaceutical industry to move this potential therapy into human clinical trials in the future.

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MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release
February 10^th, 2022

LONDON- A heart attack can be deadly, but there are effective lifesaving procedures if treated in time. The most common procedure is called reperfusion therapy, which is when the blocked coronary artery causing the heart attack is opened up and a stent is placed inside to let blood flow freely again.

In a recent published study by a multi-center research team at Lawson Health Research Institute, St. Joseph’s Health Care London and a number of other institutions across the globe, scientists examine a condition called reperfusion injury, a problem that can take place following reperfusion therapy.

“When you open up the coronary artery in someone experiencing a heart attack the blood starts to flow. However, we found there are a number of factors that lead to other injuries due to opening up the vessel,” explains Dr. Rohan Dharmakumar, Executive Director of the Krannert Cardiovascular Research Center at Indiana University. “Opening up the coronary artery, although lifesaving and necessary, can at times cause significant reperfusion injury which is a concept that had yet to be scientifically proven until now.”

For example, when the blocked coronary artery is opened up with reperfusion therapy the blood flowing into narrower vessels can cause the smaller vessels to burst and cause internal bleeding within the heart muscle, which is called myocardial hemorrhage. 

“Those who experience a myocardial hemorrhage have a much larger piece of their heart muscle die than those who don’t have hemorrhage,” says Dr. Frank Prato, Program Lead of Lawson’s Imaging Research Program and Assistant Scientific Director at Lawson. “We have been able to show that if there is hemorrhage due to reperfusion injury, the size of the dead tissue within the heart grows, which then can ultimately lead to heart failure.”

After studying 70 patients with heart attacks, the research team was able to show reperfusion injury led to hemorrhage in excess of 50 per cent of patients who were being treated for a heart attack.

“The outcome isn’t immediate death, but heart failure that can start a few years after the heart attack,” says Dr. Dharmakumar. “So even though we are saving people initially from a heart attack, we are still losing a lot of people to heart failure within the first five years.”

This discovery was made possible through the use of Lawson’s cyclotron, a machine used to make isotopes for advanced PET/MRI scans at St. Joseph’s Health Care London.

“To validate the study with a PET/MRI we needed a specific radioactive isotope called nitrogen 13 ammonia,” explains Dr. Mike Kovacs, Scientist and Director of Lawson’s Cyclotron Facility. “We were able to create this isotope and went through Health Canada approval, so now we can use this not only in preclinical models but with human patients as well.”

The study has been published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology. The findings will now allow the research team to examine different forms of therapies that can be used in combination with reperfusion therapy to improve patient outcomes.


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ABOUT LAWSON HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Lawson Health Research Institute is one of Canada’s top hospital-based research institutes, tackling the most pressing challenges in health care. As the research institute of London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care London, our innovation happens where care is delivered. Lawson research teams are at the leading-edge of science with the goal of improving health and the delivery of care for patients. Working in partnership with Western University, our researchers are encouraged to pursue their curiosity, collaborate often and share their discoveries widely. Research conducted through Lawson makes a difference in the lives of patients, families and communities around the world. To learn more, visit www.lawsonresearch.ca.

For more information, please contact:
Celine Zadorsky
Communications Consultant & External Relations
Lawson Health Research Institute
T: 519-685-8500 ext. 75664
C. 519-619-3872
@email
www.lawsonresearch.ca/news-events