Longevity & AgingHeparin Emerges as a Multi-Target Weapon Against Sepsis Beyond Blood Thinning
Sepsis kills millions annually and most targeted therapies have failed. This review examines heparin — a common blood thinner — as a broader therapeutic agent for sepsis. Beyond anticoagulation, heparin suppresses inflammation, neutralizes bacterial damage signals, inhibits immune overactivation, and disrupts neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), all hallmarks of sepsis pathology. Clinical trial evidence remains inconclusive, partly due to flawed trial designs and sepsis heterogeneity. COVID-19 data hint that heparin may help in early-stage disease but could harm patients in advanced stages. Researchers are now exploring non-anticoagulant heparin derivatives and biomarker-guided patient selection to maximize benefit while reducing bleeding risk. The authors caution that therapeutic-dose heparin should not be adopted broadly until rigorous trials confirm benefit.
