Therapeutic options directed against platelet activating factor, eicosanoids and bradykinin in sepsis.

Various autacoids, including the eicosanoids, platelet activating factor (PAF) and bradykinin, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of sepsis and septic shock. The precise role of these compounds as mediators of the diffuse inflammatory state characteristic of sepsis remains to be determined, but, in animal models, beneficial effects have been observed as a result of treatment with various inhibitors of eicosanoid biosynthesis or antagonists of PAF or bradykinin receptors. To date, however, it has been impossible to translate these encouraging results from animal models into convincingly positive results in the clinical setting.