Inhaled Nitric Oxide Therapy : Non-response and Rebound Response

• Therapeutic inhaled nitric oxide (INO) has proved beneficial in patients with pulmonary hypertension. However, around 30-40% of the patients are non-responders to this therapy, and a life-threatening rebound response may occur during attempts to withdraw INO. This thesis investigated the link between vasoconstrictors and non- and rebound responses in piglets subjected to acute lung injury by exposure to endotoxin or oleic acid (OA). We found that INO had strong effect in mainly ET-1 related, endotoxin-induced pulmonary hypertension, and there was a rebound response after INO withdrawal. Thus, the weaker the response to INO, the greater the rebound. Neither response nor rebound was seen in oleic acid-induced, mainly prostaglandin related pulmonary hypertension. INO decreased expression of the ET-A receptor, and this might be another signal transduction pathway whereby INO relieves pulmonary vasoconstriction besides increasing c-GMP. Thus INO might have better effect in pulmonary vasoconstriction that is mainly mediated by ET-1 than when other vasoconstrictors are involved in the vascular reaction. Increased production and/or release of vasoconstrictor peptide endothelin-1 (ET-1) during INO, and release of prostaglandin TXA2 and PGF2α after INO withdrawal, were more important causes of the rebound, than a decreasing endogenous NO production during INO. The latter mechanism has been proposed in previous studies. An increase in prostaglandins after INO withdrawal is possibly secondary to the increase in ET-1 during INO. Combination of INO with the COX inhibitor diclofenac blocked the rebound reaction. These findings may open the way for new therapeutic modalities.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Anestesi och intensivvård (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Anesthesiology and Intensive Care (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Anaesthesiology and intensive care

nitric oxide inhalation

rebound response

non-response

endothelin-1

COX inhibitor

prostaglandin

ARDS

endotoxin

oleic acid

Anestesiologi och intensivvård

Anaesthetics and intensive care

Anestesiologi och intensivvård

Clinical Physiology

klinisk fysiologi

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

dok (subject category)