Strategies for the control of LPS-mediated pathophysiological disorders

Lipopolysaccharides released from Gram-negative bacteria after infection initiate an alarm response in the host, which has supposedly evolved to protect it. However, an exaggerated response leads to a cascade of pathophysiological events termed sepsis. In the USA alone, the annual number of deaths caused by sepsis ( approximately 70,000) is comparable with that caused by AIDS. The author describes the major advances of knowledge in this field and the attempts to convert this into successful therapeutics. Anti-endotoxin and anti-inflammatory agents have been disappointing, but new strategies might result in effective treatments in the forthcoming years.