Endothelial Progenitor Cells May Improve Acute Lung Injury Survival Rates

Endothelial Progenitor Cells May Improve Acute Lung Injury Survival Rates

HealthDay reported Wednesday on a study done at Gray Memorial Hospital in Atlanta on 45 patients who had acute lung injury. In the study, researchers compared the death rates and blood counts of the stem cell subtype endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in patients. When the EPC count was 35 or more, the patients had a 70% survival rate, while those with EPC counts under 35 only had a 49% survival rate.

The abstract is available from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. (Full text is only available through subscription.) Researchers also included in the study 10 control subjects who were intubated and 7 healthy volunteers. The EPC numbers were higher in the 45 patients who had acute lung injury and the intubated patients than they were in the healthy group. The study concludes that, “An increased number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells in acute lung injury is associated with improved survival.” The relationship between the number of cells, the survival rates, and other factors, is not identified.

Endothelial progenitor cells are those created in the bone marrow which circulate through the bloodstream to repair vascular damage. Acute lung injury and its sister illness, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, involves inflammation of the lungs and can complicate a number of other serious issues. Since acute lung injury can be caused by a number of things, including trauma or blood transfusions, it seems like a number of other factors might be involved in survival rates. It would be interesting to know what work the EPCs are doing—reducing inflammation? Healing damaged tissue? More research is definitely needed in this area.