Premature death and organ hypofunction after severe acute pancreatitis results from cellular senescence - mechanisms and new opportunities for therapy

We have discovered that after a serious illness, for example one that needs treatment in intensive care, some people's vital organs do not work as well as they should. This negative effect can last for months and sometimes years afterwards. We have also discovered that people who have suffered a serious illness have a shorter life expectancy compared to others of a similar age, gender and overall general health. This happens even though these individuals appear to have made a complete recovery from their original illness. We believe that this is a serious problem for them and for society as a whole. Our goal is to help people to recover to their full potential after suffering a life-threatening illness. The idea behind our science is that serious illness results in premature ageing of vital organs within the body, for example the heart and lungs. Our idea is based on discoveries made over many years by us and other scientists. Whenever a cell divides in order for a person to grow or a vital organ to repair itself, for example the cells lining the bowel, liver cells and white blood cells of the immune system, that cell gets a little bit older. After a cell has divided a number of times, or if the DNA inside the cell gets damaged beyond repair, for example during a serious illness, that cell becomes aged. It is likely that these aged cells have stopped working properly. We think that inflammation during a serious illness leads to quicker and earlier aging of cells and that reduces a person's life expectancy. My area of expertise is looking after patients whose cells have become damaged during a serious illness called acute pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis is inflammation in the pancreas - a vital organ that controls the digestion of food and blood sugar levels. Our research will be very helpful to people who have had pancreatitis and to those people who look after them. Added to that, we also think that our discoveries will be useful to other scientists and health professionals who study other serious illness, for example severe trauma or major surgery. Our research will use modern scientific techniques in the laboratory and build on what is already known in the scientific community. We are also going to invite patients who are recovering from pancreatitis to donate blood samples in order to measure damage in their cells, and do some medical tests over a period of time to see how their organs have aged as a result of pancreatitis, and to see how well they recover. When we have a better understanding of how cell damage and cell ageing are linked, we will be able to plan ways to improve a person's recovery after serious illness. We will share our discoveries with the scientific community, and work together to reach our goals.