Carbon monoxide is known as a deadly poison, but it can have therapeutic benefits for conditions like cancer. Researchers might have found a way to deliver the treatment in a foam.
The person is Grace Wade.
The researchers used techniques from gastronomy to make the foam.
Giovanni Traverso was born in Italy.
The rectum can be used to deliver carbon monoxide foam to animals.
When it reaches concentrations of 50 per cent or more in the blood, the colourless, odourless gas can cause comas, convulsions and eventually death.
It isn't always a bad thing. When we are sick, our bodies ramp up production of small amounts.
Several studies have shown that low levels of carbon monoxide can help treat conditions such as cardiovascular disease and even cancer.
The challenge is to come up with a way to administer it. Delivery methods can be problematic with dosing and storage.
The gas may be whipped into a foam to make it work.
A co-author of the new study says that they wanted to try an approach that was out of the norm. He says they looked at the boundaries of food and how they have pushed them.
The ingredients commonly found in processed foods were placed inside the vessels. The materials were whipped at high speeds to entrap the gas inside. The result looks like a lot of milk. The materials are food grade and there are no risks of handling them.
They put the foam into the rectums of about 40 mice and rats with symptoms of one of three conditions: Irritable bowel syndrome, radiation-related gut damage or a overdose of acetaminophen. The rodents that were treated had significant reductions in inflammation and tissue injury compared to the rodents that weren't treated at all.
When carbon monoxide is released from the foam it enters the bloodstream where it can access other organs. A wide range of conditions could be treated with the foam.
"I don't know if there is another foam that can deliver therapeutic gases." This opens up a completely new way of thinking about drugs.
The journal is called Science Translational Medicine.
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