Nitric oxide may save lives post-aneurysm

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A doctor who specializes in treating aneurysms has been searching for a way to prevent some patients--certain genotypes are more susceptible--from suffering strokes within days after initial treatments. Seems after the aneurysm's been addressed, the brain tends to become inflamed, which causes blood vessels to constrict and increases the likelihood of clots forming and traveling to the brain.

He's discovered that nitric oxide (NO)--which both reduces inflammation (by inhibiting white blood cells) and dilates blood vessels--can be given in small doses to mice who've been treated for aneurysm, thus reducing the risk of vasospasm (blood vessel contraction) and stroke. The method he's been using includes attaching the NO to tiny polymers and inserting them into the spinal fluid through an opening at the base of the brain. They then carry the NO and distribute it throughout the brain.

The approach isn't yet ready for human testing. For one thing, making holes in the brain as a means of delivery is frowned on by drug companies. So now the doctor's searching for a systemic way to administer the drug. I'm guessing it won't be long--remember the "nanoparticle bandage"?

Nanotechnology good for synthetic blood

Nanomaterials have been in use for decades. But you never saw the term "nanoparticles" in such up-close-and-personal products as eyeliner. Manufacturers didn't think at that point it was necessary to point out such an unusual ingredient.

Today nanotechnology is increasingly used for making bio-materials--things that can be applied to or used in the human body. One of the latest successes is artificial nano-blood platelets. They say these synthetic platelets are made of nanomaterials already well-known and proven-safe in the medical device and drug products.

Surprisingly, the study cites traumatic injury as the "top cause of death for people ages 5 to 44." It also says that "blood loss is the major factor for military and civilian trauma deaths." Here's the fascinating short version of how these platelets are manufactured:

The researchers started with a polymer, or tiny pieces of plastic, made out of the same material used in dissolving stitches. It was surrounded by another polymer that can be dissolved in water that is used in the food and drug industries. They then covered the particle in small molecules that act like hooks, allowing it to bond with platelets in the blood. They only bond with platelets that are working to stop the bleeding, not other platelets in the body.

The platelets have several advantages over donated blood. They can be stored at room temperature instead of requiring refrigeration. They can be given by any medical professional--say, at an accident site--rather than requiring the patient to go to a hospital. They can also be stored significantly longer than live blood products.

Rats in the study stopped bleeding in half the time with these new platelets, but rats aren't people. More research and testing needs to be done before nano-blood platelets will start being used for humans.

Frankly, I wouldn't want to be the first human to receive plastic blood platelets. Makes me think of the 1966 sci-fi thriller Fantastic Voyage--only this time it's human inventions invading the bloodstream instead of shrunken humans. Can blood clot too efficiently? It'll be interesting to see what other cautions arise as research goes forward.

Image credit: Crystal

Calling niacin to arms in the battle against cholesterol

The belief that controlling cholesterol is a key to atherosclerosis and heart disease has had its share of supporters and detractors over the years. Researchers have focused on several different approaches--nutrition, drugs that lower "bad" (LDL) cholesterol levels by blocking absorption or by affecting production in the liver, and drugs that raise "good" (HDL) levels. HDL itself is considered a potent weapon for lowering LDL.

Apparently niacin, a standard everyday B vitamin, has long been known to help with cholesterol issues, but it hasn't been widely recommended because it can be hard for some patients to tolerate. Now a new study finds--not conclusively, but enough to raise a stir--that niacin, when used in combination with statins, is more effective at reversing plaque buildup in the arteries than another drug called Zetia. Heart researchers are encouraged about niacin's ability to improve artery constriction and plan to do more studies. [The really ugly thing pictured on the right is a seriously diseased artery photographed post-mortem.]

Heart disease has been the target of so many hopeful yet ineffective solutions. Perfectly reasonable doctors standing on opposite ends of the spectrum on various issues. What's a poor heart patient to do?

How long have we heard about the magic of antioxidants? Well, apparently they're virtually useless when taken as a pill. Not long ago a bunch of experts weighed in after results of a 9-year study showed no appreciable improvement in those who took those types of supplements. But heart patients who switched to a healthier diet containing those same vitamin and anti-oxidant substances did improve.

No telling what miracles we will continue to discover as we forge ahead using nature's own bounty to combat our ills.

Red wine leads to nitric oxide

Oh, happy day! They're telling us again how good for us red wine is. This time a benefit has been found to start even before wine's antioxidant protective qualities have had a chance to kick in. The polyphenols in the wine help the stomach convert other substances (such as nitrites) into--guess what?--nitric oxide (NO), which helps the stomach relax and aids digestion.

Of course this article on the benefits of red wine was published in Wine Spectator--not exactly a scientific journal. But the American Heart Association isn't arguing too much about it. They do, however, point out that red wine's polyphenols (also present in apples, berries, and onions) don't need the alcohol part of the equation to be effective at producing NO.

Hey, I have no problem imbibing fully alcoholic wine to get the many benefits. Just keep that research comin'...

Image credit: AntiOXidant 2008

Carbon monoxide the new nitric oxide?

Sounds crazy, since carbon monoxide (CO) has long been known as a poisonous gas--it's one of the substances in cigarettes that requires a warning on the package. But a new theory holds that CO may have, in very reduced and controlled doses, protective medical benefits that are not unlike some of those that nitric oxide provides.

The National Institutes of Health have just awarded $1.4 million to Beth Israel Deaconess medical center to study the underlying biology of carbon monoxide. When a grad student researcher there began 10 years ago to study the effects of an enzyme that breaks down a substance in the human body and then the body itself produces CO as a byproduct. He was curious as to what potential benefit carbon monoxide might be providing. According to the article, that researcher and other scientist:

"...found that breathing the gas for an hour at about 5 to 10 percent of a fatal exposure has beneficial effects in animals with a range of illnesses, from malaria to cardiovascular disease. While its actions are only partly understood, the gas seems to play a role in controlling inflammation, regulating cell death, and promoting repair and renewal."

Much work remains to be done, but results so far are promising. The goal will be to create a drug that works the way CO does, but doesn't suffer the stigma of carbon monoxide as a poisoning agent.It's always exciting to see researchers looking at the natural processes of the body for clues on making human intervention more effective.

Nitric oxide for swine flu

No one said how well it worked, but some doctors are reported to have tried giving patients with severe cases of swine flu doses of nitric oxide (NO) to help their blood vessels expand and work better, and then turning them upside down in a special bed to help their lungs work better.

Doctors in Australia and New Zealand even started treating severe cases with an aggressive, unusual treatment called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). With this, doctors withdraw patients' blood and put it through a machine that removes carbon dioxide and then incorporates oxygen before returning the blood to the patients.

In Canada and Mexico, according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), more use was made of nitric oxide for severe swine flu cases among mainly healthy young adults and adolescents:

On average, swine flu victims required “12 days of mechanical ventilation and frequent use of rescue therapies such as high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, prone positioning, neuromuscular blockade, and inhaled nitric oxide” (ibid.)

I'm bet the day's around the corner when we'll have home inhalers with NO, or maybe a pill like aspirin we can just pop when breathing gets bad.

Here's the CDC's top influenza doc talking about H1N1.

NIH confirms flu vaccine does the trick

The NIH study of the newest H1N1 investigational flu vaccine has confirmed--in spades--the positive results of an earlier industry study. It looks like recipients of the new flu vaccine will have a significant immune response in just 8 to 10 days after injection. And happily this new approach requires only one shot, instead of a shot-plus-booster combination.

They should be starting to offer the vaccine to Americans in mid-October. Best part is, it works really well with those 18-64 (where the biggest vulnerability to this flu is--especially pregnant women), and no side effects except it hurts where you get the shot.

Since I have been so deeply mired in other projects for the past couple of months, I didn't realize they were still expecting a pandemic flu attack. And though they're saying "a long and busy flu season," it looks like fears have abated about not enough flu vaccine and not enough oomph to the antiviral drugs that exist.