title: Role of the central nervous system in the adult respiratory distress syndrome.
abstract: The CNS might play an important pathophysiologic role in the induction of the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Post-traumatic development of cerebral microthromboses seems to be a major feature. To test this hypothesis, we subjected Wistar rats with postburn ARDS to the following microneurosurgical procedures in an attempt to morphologically detect modifications in the evolving pattern: a) anterior (AH) or posterior (PH) hypothalamus nuclei stereotaxic electrolytic lesion; b) intracerebroventricular microinjections of phenoxybenzamine (PB)-50, micrograms propranolol-0.5 micrograms, cocaine-5 micrograms, epinephrine-0.5 micrograms, carbachol(CA)-5 micrograms, pirilamine-20 micrograms, cimetidine-30 micrograms, lidocaine-20 micrograms, atropine (AT)-40 micrograms; c) intra-AH microinjections of CA-10 micrograms, AT-20 micrograms; and d) intra-PH microinjections of PB-10 micrograms, norepinephrine-0.05 microgram. The results showed that the alpha-adrenergic components of PH induce a potentiation in ARDS whereas the cholinergic components of AH seem to attenuate this syndrome. This work suggests that a damaged CNS may suffer cybernetic derangements as to induce it to generate inappropriate adaptative responses that can result in the development of ARDS.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology