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Saturday, February 15, 2003Physicians can determine a patient's level of immunity to these bacteria by measuring the number of antibodies (EndoCAB) in the bloodstream that the body has created in response to the bacteria. "In our study, we found that reduced preoperative levels of EndoCAB are a predictor of postoperative cognitive dysfunction in patients undergoing bypass surgery," said Joseph Mathew, M.D., Duke anesthesiologist and principal investigator of the study. "Among patients who undergo bypass surgery, low endotoxin immunity may exacerbate the inflammatory response typically associated with the heart-lung machine and cause greater cognitive dysfunction. "This effect was particularly pronounced in patients over the age of 60," he said. The study can be found here. posted by Sydney on 2/15/2003 07:50:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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