Effects of Sepsis on Nerve Evoked Responses

Sepsis and SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) have become two expensive and complicated problems seen in the intensive care unit (ICU). These two illnesses have been known to cause dysfunction with excitable tissues in the body. Encephalopathy, neuropathy, and myopathy are the three biggest. In this paper we discuss the development of an animal model of sepsis and the neurological complications sepsis brought about. Nerve conduction studies showed increased durations on compound muscle action potential, and decreased amplitude as well as increased duration and latency on sensory nerve action potentials. These results were not consistent with the two most common neuropathies, demyelinating and axonal. Collaborative efforts with the Cope lab found that action potential amplitudes of individual axons could be improved by delivering a hyperpolarizing current. This data is supported by similar findings in muscle fibers by the Rich lab