Anemia due to inflammation affects billions of patients. Of the critically ill, almost all patients develop anemia.
Even after these patients recover, the anemia remains until 1 year after ICU discharge. Anemia in ICU patients is caused by heavy inflammation, causing a shape change in the red blood cell, leading to fastened clearance of the red cells from the blood circulation. Thereby, these patients often require a blood transfusion. The development of anemia may be slowed down by blocking of certain proteins that regulate the inflammatory response. This project investigates mechanisms of enhanced breakdown of red blood cells in ICU patients as well as in experimental models using cells and rodents. Also, we will investigate potential novel treatment options to inhibit the red cell breakdown. Results will increase our knowledge about the development of anemia due to inflammation, with het aim to discover new therapies to inhibit anemia. Because prevention of anemia is better then transfusion.