Mice with stern infections are three times more liable to endure, after being given treatment with a type of bone marrow stem cell, according to new research by Canadian scientists, a sign that might have positive inferences for humans.

The new study by researchers in Ottawa and Toronto, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, established that making use of bone marrow stem cells as treatment raised the chances of the survival of mice with sepsis by three times.

Sepsis which is often caused by a burst appendix, severe burns or pneumonia, is the No. 2 killer of patients in intensive care units in Canada and the U. S. The chief cause is multiple organ malfunction and severe lung injury, both tied for first place.

Sepsis is a life-threatening medical condition that is caused by the body's response to infection, said author Dr. Arthur Slutsky, Vice-President of research at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

About a quarter of patients with severe sepsis pass away and there is very a small number of definite therapies for this shocking condition.

Half the mice that were given the stem cells were alive after five days, in contrast to 15% of the mice that had not being given the cells.