Not just quelling a kidney catastrophe!

What's inside those cartridges? Beads, my friend. Lots and lots of beads.A new product promises to ease the "cytokine storm" and other causes of inflammation, organ failure and even death in critical veterinary patients.

The magic behind VetResQ's cartridge, according to Cytosorbents, is the "biocompatible, highly porous polymer beads," the size of grains of salt with lots of pores and channels that collect a range of inflammatory and toxic substances in whole blood and plasma.

The cartridge fits standard hemodialysis, continuous renal replacement therapy and hemoperfusion devices and churns a patient's blood through the aforementioned beads that scrub out:

> excessive pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, in cases of sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)

> bacterial toxins such toxic shock syndrome toxin, Staphylococcus aureus alpha-hemolysin and fungal mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxin)

> pancreatic enzymes, in patients with severe acute pancreatitis

> bilirubin, in cases of liver failure

> myoglobin, in trauma cases

> activated complement, in patients with autoimmune disease

> lipophilic drugs, in the case of accidental intoxication.