Also known as multi-organ dysfunction syndrome, this gradual, then hasty, cessation of vital organs is a major cause of posttraumatic event death. The reasons are obscure. "We really don't have a clue," says J. Perren Cobb, a surgery professor at Washington University in St. Louis. An attempt to grasp the nature of the problem and improve the situation came this past October when a $25 million, five-year grant was awarded from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The research involves 500 patients and some 45 investigators at 20 centers. This so-called glue grant, because it brings together scientists from a large number of institutions, is focused on understanding inflammation by using the knowledge and techniques spawned by human genome research.
The body's inflammatory response, says Timothy Buchman, a surgery professor at Washington University, is designed to control pathogens and remove damaged tissue from wounds. "These inflammatory molecules were designed ...
