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Project

Protective potential of obesity against critical illness induced muscle wasting

Critical illness (CI) is any acute medical condition in which the patient requires intensive medical support of vital organ functions in order to survive. Despite progress in intensive care medicine, 30% of all ICU patients enter a state of prolonged CI, which goes along with persistent hypercatabolism. This results in muscle wasting and weakness, associated with impaired weaning from mechanical ventilation, delayed rehabilitation, and late death. 

Several large observational studies have demonstrated that critically ill patients who are overweight or obese have a lower risk of dying from acute illnesses than do patients with a normal body mass index. This suggest a potential protective role for adipose tissue in CI. We recently demonstrated in both an animal study and in human CI patients that premorbid obesity prevented critical-illness induced muscle wasting and weakness. The aim of this project is to unravel potential regulating mechanisms of this protective effect which would open exciting perspectives for the development of novel therapeutic strategies to decrease the important and debilitating problem of ICU acquired weakness.

Date:1 Jan 2017 →  31 Dec 2020
Keywords:obesity, critical illness, muscle wasting
Disciplines:Anaesthesiology, Intensive care and emergency medicine