An examination of lymphatic drug delivery to treat acute and critical illnesses

Acute diseases are characterised by a rapid onset of symptoms resulting in the need for intensive care. Globally ~20 million people per year are diagnosed with an acute disease and of these 30% die. Death results from a progression to organ failure that currently has no specific treatments. Recent findings show that gut-lymph serves as a conduit for toxins to enter the blood where the toxins damage organs. This thesis contains the first steps toward the application of neutralizing these toxins by lymphatic drug delivery strategies and presents evidence that this approach provides effective treatment of an acute disease.