Genes Linked To Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome - University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine Study Reported At 104th International

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 21 May 2008 - 13:00 PDT

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Researchers with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified a panel of genes that appears to be strongly predictive of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Accurate diagnosis of ARDS can be a challenge because the disorder is often associated with other serious illness, such as pneumonia, sepsis, chemical exposure and traumatic injury.

"A total of 11 genes were found to be strongly predictive of ARDS-especially p21 and p57-genes associated with stress response and tumor suppression," said Judie Ann Howrylak, M.D., a fellow in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She will present the results Wednesday at the 104th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in Toronto. "Using this gene signature, we were able to distinguish patients with ARDS and sepsis from patients with sepsis alone with a high degree of accuracy."

To find biomarkers for ARDS, Dr. Howrylak and her colleagues evaluated blood samples collected from 12 patients with ARDS and sepsis and 23 patients with sepsis alone over a period of nearly two years. Individual samples were collected within 48 hours of admission to medical intensive-care units at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and subjected to genetic analysis.

A life threatening lung condition, ARDS affects about 190,000 Americans a year, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health. The condition leads to fluid buildup in the lungs, which interferes with breathing and can result in dangerously low oxygen levels despite mechanical ventilation. ARDS often is associated with other organ failure, particularly of the liver and kidneys. Smokers are at higher risk, and the condition has a more than 30 percent mortality rate. Among ARDS survivors, many patients have memory loss or other cognitive deficits due to brain damage related to low oxygen.

In addition to Dr. Howrylak, authors include Jigme Sethi, M.D., Michael Donahoe, M.D., and Lorrie Lucht, B.S.N., all of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Tamas Dolinay, M.D., and Augustine Choi, M.D., both of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston; and Eric Xing, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center