Role of platelet-activating factor in the pathophysiology of necrotizing enterocolitis.
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating gastrointestinal illness that affects predominantly preterm infants. Treatment options are limited and NEC remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The precise aetiology of NEC remains unclear but evidence strongly suggests that the cause is multifactorial and there are four main aetiological factors: prematurity, hypoxia, enteral feeding and bacterial colonization. The presence of similar intestinal lesions, regardless of aetiological trigger, strongly implicates a final common pathway in the pathogenesis. There is now a substantial body of evidence to indicate that endogenous inflammatory mediators, particularly platelet-activating factor (PAF), play a vital role in this final pathway.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of agents that antagonize PAF may provide therapeutic options in the management of NEC.
Ewer
A K
AK
Birmingham Women's Hospital and University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK. a.k.ewer@bham.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D010972:Platelet Activating Factor / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D011379:Prognosis; D051381:Rats; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013552:Swine
D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D010972:Platelet Activating Factor; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors