Brain Death: Inflammatory Response, Apoptosis, and Endotoxin Tolerance

We hypothesized that brain death is associated with an early systemic inflammatory response, possibly combined with activation of apoptotic cell death, two events that may contribute to induce rapid organ dysfunction. In this study of brain-dead donors and controls, we assayed plasma cytokines and soluble factors, investigated plasma endotoxin levels as a triggering factor for inflammation, measured ex vivo cytokine production by blood leukocytes to determine whether immunosuppression occurred after brain death, and examined skeletal muscle biopsies to look for evidence of inflammation and increased apoptosis in peripheral tissue.

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Key information

Conditions

Brain Death Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Coma Consciousness Disorders Death Inflammation Nervous System Diseases Neurobehavioral Manifestations Neurologic Manifestations Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Unconsciousness

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Liege Hospital, Liège, Belgium

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

All brain dead patients whatever the cause (cardiac arrest, stroke, head trauma)

Exclusion criteria

Age < 18years

Treatment and study plan

Muscle biopsy

Procedure

Muscle biopsies were taken through the operation site from the vastus lateralis thigh muscle at the beginning of surgery

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Delafontaine Hospital

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Observational Study on the Systemic Inflammatory Response During Brain Death.

Important dates

Study start: 2000
Primary completion: 2007
Study completion: 2007
First posted: Feb 14, 2008
Registry last updated: Feb 14, 2008

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed