Respiratory distress syndrome, surfactant deficiency causing

Deficiency of Lung Surfactant Causes Respiratory Distress Syndrome... 

Infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also known as hyaline membrane disease, is one of the most common causes of respiratory disease in premature infants. In fact, it occurs in 30,000 to 50,000 newborns per year in the U.S. — most commonly in neonates bom before week 25 of gestation. IRDS is characterized by areas of atelectasis, hemorrhagic edema, and the formation of hyaline membranes within the alveoli. IRDS is caused by a deficiency of pulmonary surfactant. Alveolar type II cells, which produce surfactant, do not begin to mature until weeks 25 to 28 of... 

Phospholipid that is the major component of Tung surfactant, and the syndrome caused by its deficiency Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC, also called dipalmitoyllecithin, DPPL) is the major lipid component of lung surfactant. It is made and secreted by type II granular pneu-mocytes. Insufficient surfactant production causes respiratory distress syndrome, which can occur in preterm infants or adults whose surfactant-producing pneumocytes have been damaged or destroyed. 

Alveoli represent the primary site for gas exchange within the lung, and thus their health is vital for survival. Alveolar conditions with a primary genetic cause, such as surfactant protein-B (SP-B) deficiency and SP-C deficiency, are prime candidates for a rAAV-gene therapy approach. Diseases in which alveoli are damaged secondary to other defects might also be treated with gene transfer. Such conditions include environmental toxin exposure, infectious diseases, and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (Table 4.1) (Rolls et al., 1997, 1998, 2001 Cheers et al 1999 Ruan et al., 2002). 

D. Respiratory distress syndrome is caused by a deficiency of lung surfactant, which is composed mainly of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine. 

Calfactant is a lung surfactant. It is an extract of natural surfactant from calf lungs that restores lung surfactant in premature infants with lung surfactant deficiency causing respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Calfactant is indicated in RDS in premature infants under 29 weeks of gestational age at high risk for RDS and for the treatment rescue of premature infants under 72 hours of age who develop RDS and require endotracheal inmbation. 

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