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Related Concept Videos

Batteries and Fuel Cells03:12

Batteries and Fuel Cells

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A battery is a galvanic cell that is used as a source of electrical power for specific applications. Modern batteries exist in a multitude of forms to accommodate various applications, from tiny button batteries such as those that power wristwatches to the very large batteries used to supply backup energy to municipal power grids. Some batteries are designed for single-use applications and cannot be recharged (primary cells), while others are based on conveniently reversible cell reactions that...
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Classification of Illness01:17

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The meaning of illness is individualized to each person who experiences an alteration in health. In contrast, disease is a medical term indicating a pathological change in the structure and function of the body or mind. It is a condition that has specific symptoms and boundaries.
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe...
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Factors Affecting Illness01:18

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When a person's physical, emotional, intellectual, social development or spiritual functioning is compromised, this deviation from a healthy normal state is called illness. Illness creates stress that in turn harms individuals. Irritation, anger, denial, hopelessness, and fear are behavioral and emotional changes an individual experiences in the phases of illness. A variety of factors influence a person's health and well-being.
For instance, risk factors are connected to illness,...
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A conductor needs to be a component of a path that creates a closed loop or full circuit to have a continuous current flowing through it. A current starts to flow if an electric field is created inside an isolated conductor that is not part of a full circuit. The conductor quickly develops a net positive charge at one end and a net negative charge at the other. These charges generate an electric field opposite the direction of the applied electric field, which reduces the current. Eventually,...
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Concepts of Health and Illness01:29

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Health is a condition of the body, mind, and spirit where an individual remains free from illness. Similarly, wellness is an active state, including living a lifestyle that promotes physical, mental, and emotional health. Physical health is critical for the overall well-being and can be affected by lifestyle, activity level, diet, and behavior. The highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental and universal human right. Consider Lisa, a fifteen-year-old born with congenital...
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Dimensions of Health and Illness01:21

Dimensions of Health and Illness

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The factors influencing the health-illness continuum can be internal or external and may or may not be under conscious control. They are related to the following eight human dimensions, and each dimension is interrelated to one other.
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Related Experiment Video

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Use of a Central Venous Line for Fluids, Drugs and Nutrient Administration in a Mouse Model of Critical Illness
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Critical illness and flat batteries.

Mervyn Singer1

  • 1Bloomsbury Institute of Intensive Care Medicine, Cruciform Building, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. m.singer@ucl.ac.uk.

Critical Care (London, England)
|January 4, 2018
PubMed
Summary

Severe illness triggers a metabolic shutdown, not just inflammation, to protect organs from damage. This bioenergetic crisis, driven by mitochondrial dysfunction, explains organ failure and recovery potential in critical conditions like sepsis.

Area of Science:

  • Physiology
  • Biochemistry
  • Pathology

Background:

  • Dysregulated host responses to sepsis, trauma, and ischemia-reperfusion injury cause organ dysfunction and death.
  • Research has focused on inflammation and immunity, neglecting organ-level mechanisms of physiological-biochemical failure.
  • Organ failure often occurs with minimal cell death, adequate oxygen, and low initial inflammation, posing a mechanistic puzzle.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the precise organ-level mechanisms underlying physiological-biochemical failure in critical illness.
  • To reconcile functional organ failure with minimal cell death and inflammation.
  • To propose a unifying hypothesis for organ dysfunction in critical illness.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and synthesis of existing research on host responses, organ failure, and cellular metabolism.

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  • Analysis of factors contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction, including inflammatory mediators, oxidant stress, and oxygen deficit.
  • Examination of metabolic and genetic regulatory pathways influencing cellular energy production.

    • Main Results:

    • A metabolic-bioenergetic shutdown, analogous to hibernation, is proposed as the primary driver of organ failure.
    • This shutdown results from compromised mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation due to inflammatory mediators, oxidant stress, hypoxia, and genetic downregulation.
    • Altered substrate metabolism and mitochondrial uncoupling further impair ATP production, leading to reduced cellular function.

    Conclusions:

    • Metabolic-bioenergetic shutdown explains organ failure in critical illness, characterized by reduced ATP provision and cellular function.
    • This shutdown may serve a protective role by preventing cell death pathways during prolonged inflammatory insults.
    • Therapeutic strategies must carefully navigate the narrow balance between adaptation and maladaptation to avoid harm.