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 Respiratory Distress Syndrome
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You also can't have a talk on RDS without this slide, which all neonatology fellows memorize the night before their boards, and forget the day after, but this is the surfactant biosynthesis pathway, and the only reason I put it up is because one question that we never talk about is "why do steroids help this process?" "why do steroids stimulate the synthesis of surfactant?". So, who remembers which enzymatic pathway the steroids stimulate? Do you remember? You already took your boards, huh? You don't remember, okay. I didn't remember either, I had to look it up. I took my boards 18 years ago. But it is this enzyme right here. It is stimulated by the steroid, and it causes significant increase in the elaboration of phosphatidylcholine , which you know, is one of the main components of surfactant. So, when we give a prenatal mom who is in premature labor systemic steroids, this pathway really picks up and increases the production of phosphatidylcholine, which can help with the maturation of the newborn's lung. So, now you have seen that, and we have fulfilled our obligation.