Neuroinflammation after cardiopulmonary bypass

Approximately 2 million cardiac surgical procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) are performed annually worldwide and a major unresolved clinical complications arising from CPB is postoperative delirium. It occurs in approximately50% of patients and these patients have a more than 30% risk of developing long-term cognitive decline with dementia after 7.5 years.

There is emerging evidence that one of the critical drivers of delirium after CPB is neuroinflammation. In close collaboration with the Translational Cardiovascular and Renal Research Group, we are determining how CPB drives neuroinflammation and investigating novel treatments targeting neuroinflammation.

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