Systemic inflammatory illnesses (such as sepsis) are marked by degradation of the
endothelial glycocalyx, a layer of glycosaminoglycans (including heparan sulfate,
chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid) lining the vascular lumen. We hypothesized that
different pathophysiologic insults would produce characteristic patterns of released
glycocalyx fragments. We collected plasma from healthy donors as well as from subjects
with respiratory failure due to altered mental status (intoxication, ischemic brain injury) …