 Acute lung injury ALI is a common and lethal form of respiratory failure, occurring in 200,000 people each year and in as many as 25 of mechanically ventilated patients. Despite multiple clinical studies, there are presently no effective medical therapies for ALI, and its mortality remains unacceptably high at about 40. Common co-morbid conditions that can alter the susceptibility to ALI are chronic alcohol abuse and diabetes mellitus DM. The incidence and severity of ALI is increased in critically ill patients with a history of chronic alcohol abuse. With respect to DM, the group has previously reported that a history of diabetes mellitus is associated with a decreased incidence of ALI in patients with septic shock. As the biological mechanism for this association was unknown, a cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted by broadly examining the role of diabetes in the development of respiratory failure associated with sepsis. Using national hospitalization data, it was found that diabetics with sepsis were less likely to develop any form of acute respiratory failure than non-diabetics. 