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1st
appeared 5 May 1999
New Type of Artificial Surfactant Shows Promise
in Treating Lung Disease
Medical researchers have found that adding a simple molecular chain to a standard
medication for lung disease creates a new therapy that shows promise for
difficult-to-treat cases resulting from acute lung injury.
Scientists from UCSF led the team, which also included researchers from the University of
Rochester and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.
The standard medication is artificial surfactant, a detergent-like liquid that is
administered directly into the lungs. Studies in animal models showed the extra molecular
chain -- made of a compound bio-compatible with mammalian tissue -- appears to act as a
protective barrier, allowing normal function of a key substance that lines the air spaces
in the lungs. This substance is natural surfactant, a lung secretion that is vital to
normal pulmonary function because it keeps the lungs from collapsing after each breath.
Reporting yesterday (May 4) at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in
San Francisco, principal investigator H. William Taeusch of UCSF said rats with diseased
lungs treated with the enhanced medication had improved oxygen levels in the blood, an
indication that lung function is not compromised.
"The study findings are dramatic, and we are excited at the potential of someday
successfully treating infants and adults who have lung problems that don't respond well to
current treatment. We have been frustrated with the poor outcome in these groups, and our
results suggest that we could be on the road to a much-improved therapy," said
Taeusch, who is a UCSF professor of pediatrics and chief of the Department of Pediatrics
at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center.
Some 5,000-10,000 infants and 100,000 adults in the US suffer from acute lung injury every
year. Their disease differs from premature babies who at birth suffer from respiratory
distress syndrome -- also known as hyaline membrane disease -- and who respond very well
to artificial surfactant therapy.
Links:
UCSF Plays Major Role at
Pediatrics Meetings
Source: Corinna Kaarlela, News
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