From neurogenic pulmonary edema to fat embolism syndrome: a brief review of experimental and clinical investigations of acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the most devastating form of acute lung injury (ALI) or pulmonary edema (PE). We presented the experimental studies and clinical investigations of two serious forms of ALI. Drastic and severe PE could be induced by intracranial hypertension or cerebral compression (CC). The CC-induced PE was attributed to overactivation of the medullary sympathetic mechanism. Sympathetic vasoconstriction of the systemic and pulmonary resistance and capacitance vessels caused shift of blood volume from the splanchnic vascular beds to the lung. The hemodynamic changes led to systemic and pulmonary hypertension. Consequently, left ventricular failure as evidenced by dramatic decline in aortic flow with a slow decrease in pulmonary flow resulted in pressure and volume loading in the pulmonary circulation. These changes finally produced severe alveolar flooding and sudden death. Vasodilators such as sodium nitroprusside or nitroglycerin were capable of reducing the CC-induced pulmonary pathology and hemodynamic alterations. Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a serious clinical problem in patients suffering from long bone fractures. ARDS may develop and cause mortality. Our laboratory reported a total of 14 subjects associated with FES and died of ARDS. We also developed a simple technique to produce FES. Corn oil was mixed with distilled water to form fatty micelles. Intravenous administration of or introduction of fatty micelles in anesthetized rats or isolated perfused lungs caused severe alveolar damage. Our clinical observation and animal experimentation revealed that infusion of fatty acids caused physical phase, resulting in microvascular obstruction accompanied by pulmonary hypertension and increased capillary permeability. Thereafter, the lipases in the lung hydrolyzed the neutral fat and released free fatty acids and biochemical mediators which were toxic to the lung. Our data have suggested that nitric oxide (NO), inducible NO synthase (iNOS), phospholipase A2, free radical and inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1beta and interleukin-6) are involved in the biochemical phase of FES with ARDS. The alveolar macrophages are the major source of iNOS. Later study also found that neutrophil elastase and myeloperoxidase were elevated following fat embolism. N-acetylcysteine (an antioxidant), and NOS inhibitors such as Nomega nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), S-methylisothiourea (SMT) or L-N6 (1-iminoethyl)-lysine (L-Nil) were able to abrogate the FES or the fat embolism-induced changes.