Septic encephalopathy: Relationship to serum and cerebrospinal fl uid levels of adhesion molecules, lipid peroxides and S-100B protein

2^nd World Congress on Biomarkers & Clinical Research

12-14 September 2011 Baltimore, USA

Sherifa A. Hamed

Posters: J Mol Biomark Diagn

Abstract :

Severe septic illness is oft en associated with cerebral manifestations such as disturbed consciousness and delirium. Little was known about its eff ect on the CNS. Th is is the fi rst study in children that assessed the direct mediators of brain infl ammation and injury with sepsis. Th e serum and CSF concentrations of soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) (marker of endothelium-leukocyte interaction), nitric oxide (NO) and lipid peroxide (LPO) (markers for lipid peroxidation) and S-100B protein (marker of astrocytes activation and injury), were measured in 40 children with sepsis of whom 40% had moderate to severe septic encephalopathy. Serum from 25 normal children was used for comparison. Serum values of sICAM-1, NO, LPO and S100B were elevated in patients compared to controls. Th e greater elevation of CSF: serum albumin ratio suggests loss of blood-brain barrier integrity. Aft er normalizing for CSF:serum albumin ratio, we demonstrated signifi cant intrathecal synthesis of NO, LPO and S100B. Patients with encephalopathy had elevated serum and CSF levels of sICAM-1, NO, LPO and S100B compared to sepsis only. Th is study indicates that the brain is vulnerable in children with sepsis. It also suggests that coordinated interactions between immune system, vascular endothelial cells, blood-brain barrier, astrocytes and brain lipid peroxides, may contribute to septic encephalopathy

Biography :

Dr. Sherifa A. Hamed (M.D.) is an Associate Professor of Neurology and the director of the Neurogenetic unit in Assiut University, Egypt. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow (visiting scholar, 8/1998 to 8/2000) in USA [in Research Center for Genetic Medicine, Children?s National Medical Center, Dept. Integrative Systems Biology, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences]. She was a part of a multidisciplinary research program concerning disease gene identifi cation of muscular dystrophies. She served as a reviewer for 30 medical journals and has a least 70 international publications in the fi elds of Neurology, Neurogenetics and Neuropsychopharmacology.