Cardiac

ISCHEMIC REPERFUSION INJURY (IRI) & LIPIDRESCUE ®

LipidRescue® Therapy can potentially improve cardiac contractility and is consistently shown in experiments from different laboratories to reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). IRI is the severe tissue damage caused when blood supply returns to tissue after a period of ischemia or lack of oxygen. The reintroduction of oxygen alters cellular metabolism, the by-products of which cause cell damage and possibly cell death. Myocardial IRI has no specific treatment available today. However, because it can minimize IRI, it is possible that LipidRescue® might improve outcomes in settings where IRI is at play.

Where Might LipidRescue® Therapy help?

Cardiac Arrest

~75% of resuscitated patients or more suffer IRI. LipidRescue® Therapy can both improve cardiac contractility and exert cardio-protective effects that could potentially provide a new treatment option after initial recovery from cardiac arrest, when IRI is active.

Cardio-Pulmonary Bypass

~15% of patients suffer IRI after bypass. These patients may require high doses of agents to improve cardiac contractility blood pressure and could benefit from the direct cardiotonic effects of LipidRescue® Therapy.

Cardiac Transplant

Function of the transplanted heart can be impaired by IRI that occurs during storage of the organ between harvest and implantation. LipidRescueTherapy could theoretically be useful in treating this primary graft failure since reducing IRI could improve function of the transplanted heart.

Preventing Organ Damage or Death After Intraoperative Hypotension

A significant drop in blood pressure during surgery is an important cause of delayed post-surgical complications and death. Because lipid emulsion reduces IRI-related organ damage, treating patients with lipid around the time of surgery could reduce this risk.