A cute lung injury (ALI) and its severe form, ARDS, occurs after some initial injury, such as sepsis, aspiration, trauma, or pneumonia. However, only a minority of patients with such injuries progress to ALI. Sepsis is the leading cause of ALI, but only 38% of patients with sepsis develop ALI. 1 Currently, our incomplete understanding of who progresses to ALI and lack of a diagnostic blood test make preventative measures and accurate diagnosis diffi cult.Pre-B-cell colony-enhancing factor (PBEF), also known as the intracellular enzyme nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (Nampt) and the adipokine visfatin, is a proinfl ammatory cytokine that has shown promise as a biomarker in ALI. Initially shown to enhance B-cell maturation in the context of IL-7 and stem cell factor, 2 elevated PBEF levels have been
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