The pathogenesis of encephalopathy associated with sepsis could include mitochondrial dysfunction. Therefore, mutations and polymorphisms of mitochondrial DNA might affect the cerebral response to sepsis. In a welldefined cohort of Chinese patients with sepsis, Yang et al. [27] found that a haplogroup of mitochondrial DNA was a strong predictive factor for the development of septic encephalopathy. If confirmed in other populations, such findings pave the way for genomic research in the ICU.