Abstract

TRAVIESO NOVELLES, María del Carmen  and  BLANCO HIDALGO, Odalys. Association between involved mechanisms and therapeutic targets in the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Rev Cubana Invest Bioméd [online]. 2009, vol.28, n.2, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3011.

Pulmonary surfactant is one multi-component system of vital importance for breathing of organisms with lungs. When this surfactant is negatively affected, this is associated with the development of respiratory diseases with several degrees of severity, being the acute respiratory distress syndrome one of the unsolved health problems worldwide. The present article reviews the present situation of knowledge about this syndrome including definition, etiology, epidemiology, determining factors, making special emphasis on inflammatory/oxidative mechanisms involved, mainly secretory A2 phospholipase enzyme, as well as the research prospects around search of more efficient drugs to treat this condition.

Keywords : Pulmonary surfactant; acute respiratory distress syndrome; sepsis; inflammation; secretory A2 phospholipase.