Investigating how mitochondrial dysfunction affects recovery after critical illness
Official title: The Role of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Physical Recovery after Critical Illness
Funded at Veterans Health Administration · NIH-11041032 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how problems with energy production in your muscles might affect the recovery of veterans who have survived serious illnesses, and it hopes to find ways to improve their rehabilitation.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Veterans Health Administration NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| NIH project number | 5IK2RX004799-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11041032 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are veterans who have survived a stay in the intensive care unit and are experiencing difficulties in physical recovery.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who have not experienced critical illness or those with pre-existing severe physical disabilities may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research focuses on understanding the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the physical recovery of patients who have survived critical illness, particularly veterans. It aims to explore how impairments in energy generation within skeletal muscles can lead to long-term physical function issues. By enrolling 62 veterans who have experienced critical illness, the study will measure mitochondrial oxidative capacity and its relationship to physical recovery. The findings could help develop more effective rehabilitation interventions for these patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to improved rehabilitation strategies that enhance physical recovery for critically ill patients.
How similar studies have gone: While there have been studies on rehabilitation after critical illness, this specific focus on mitochondrial dysfunction and its impact on recovery is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Veterans Health Administration
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mart, Matthew Franklin — Veterans Health Administration
- Study coordinator: Mart, Matthew Franklin
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Glucocorticoids and critical illness outcomes in ICU patients
A researcher team at Columbia University will study how glucocorticoids affect short- and long-term outcomes for people who survive critical illness, including mental health and recovery aspects.
-
REPAIR-ICU: Understanding aging-like changes after critical illness to help ICU survivors
This grant studies how surviving an ICU stay triggers aging-related changes in the body and tests interventions to help people recover.
-
Understanding how individual responses to treatments vary in ARDS and sepsis
This grant aims to help clinicians predict which patients with ARDS or sepsis will benefit most from specific treatments by using advanced computer approaches.
-
Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells in Immunological Endotyping and Intervention for Chronic Critical Illness after Sepsis
Aimed at people who have survived sepsis after surgery, this grant seeks to understand why some patients develop long-term organ problems and how to tailor treatments to their immune responses.
-
Molecular rules of capillary leak in seriously ill kids
A study looking at why blood vessels become leaky in severely ill children and how that leads to organ failure.
-
Heme-Driven Immune Dysregulation in Critical Illness
Researchers are studying how free heme from red blood cell breakdown affects the immune system in people with sepsis or chronic blood disorders, with the aim of guiding better treatments.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.