Very long-chain fatty acid pattern in crush syndrome patients in the Kobe earthquake

Profiles of very long-chain fatty acid were studied in the erythrocyte membrane of healthy controls and four patients with crush syndrome caused by the Great-Hanshin Earthquake. The identities of cis-17-hexacosenoic acid (C26:1) and hexacosanoic acid (C26:0) were verified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The ratios C26:1/C22:0, C26:0/C22:0, C24:1/C22:0, and C20:1/C22:0 also were elevated. These findings suggest that active oxygen species and/or free radicals generated by ischemia-reperfusion in the crush syndrome result in beta-oxidation disorders in peroxisomes.