Oxidative mechanisms of brain dysfunction during sepsis.

Oxidative stress has drawn a lot of attention in the past few decades, since it has been reported to participate in the mechanism of many diseases. Therefore, it seemed to be a good rationale to aim oxidative stress on therapeutic research. Sepsis is a complex systemic syndrome characterized by an imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory responses to a pathogen; its pathophysiology is a dynamic process which involves components of the immune system, the coagulation pathway, parenchymal cells, and the endocrine and metabolic pathways. It is well characterized that oxidative stress plays a crucial role in sepsis development, but the relation between central nervous system dysfunction and oxidative stress during sepsis is not well understood. Thus, we here summarize the current knowledge on the role of free radicals in the development of brain dysfunction in sepsis focusing on oxidative damage and the redox control of brain inflammatory pathways.