The ASTERS Study: Assessing the Role of Sphingolipids in AcuTE Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

Brief summary

Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.

Acute lung injury (ALI) and the more severe manifestation, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) describe syndromes of acute onset, bilateral, inflammatory pulmonary infiltrates and impaired oxygenation. ARDS/ALI are a continuum of disease which results in a life threatening, rapidly progressive illness and occurs in critically ill patients. Recent reports in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) highlight the significant public health impact ARDS/ALI has on the critically ill population in that despite robust research efforts, these illnesses continue to be under diagnosed, under treated, and continue to have a high mortality rate (≥ 40% of all confirmed diagnoses). The estimates for ARDS/ALI incidence vary due to inconsistencies with proper diagnosis and lack of valid biomarkers of disease; however, it is expected that anywhere from 20-50% of patients on mechanical ventilation will develop this disease. Previous work by our group has shown that sphingolipids play a multifaceted role in lung inflammation. Sphingolipid are a class of bioactive lipids that play a role in cellular processes such as apoptosis, cell migration, and adhesion. Ceramide is one species of sphingolipid the investigators have examined in both man and mouse. Our laboratory has shown that ceramide is up-regulated in pulmonary inflammation in mouse models of pneumonitis and is elevated in the exhaled breath condensate of mechanically ventilated patients at risk for ARDS/ALI. Our work coupled with the work of others highlighting a role for ceramide in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), surfactant dysfunction, and infectious disease make ceramide a logical candidate biomarker that warrants further investigation. To our knowledge, there are no studies examining the role of ceramide as a biomarker in ARDS/ALI. Thus, our overarching hypothesis is that ceramide is elevated in the lungs of patients who develop ARDS/ALI. This lipid dysregulation accounts for the pathophysiology seen in this disease and may be a potential pharmacologic target for clinical treatment. Thus the purpose of this exploratory research is to maximize existing specimens to further evaluate ceramide as a biomarker for acute lung injury.

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Last update posted Mar 15, 2021 · Synced Sep 6, 2026

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