Acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS): the mechanism, present strategies and future perspectives of therapies.

Acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS), which manifests as non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, respiratory distress and hypoxemia, could be resulted from various processes that directly or indirectly injure the lung. Extensive investigations in experimental models and humans with ALI/ARDS have revealed many molecular mechanisms that offer therapeutic opportunities for cell or gene therapy. Herein the present strategies and future perspectives of the treatment for ALI/ARDS, include the ventilatory, pharmacological, as well as cell therapies.