Carbon Monoxide Exhibits Therapeutic Benefits

A study in which rats were exposed to low levels of carbon monoxide (CO) prior to aorta transplantation has shown that CO can prevent arteriosclerosis associated with chronic organ rejection and can also suppress stenosis following carotid artery injury by balloon angioplasty. The study was published in the January 19, 2003, online edition of Nature Medicine.

The rats that received the aorta grafts were exposed to 250 parts per million (PPM) of CO immediately following transplantation and for the subsequent 56 days of the study. The rats in the balloon injury portion of the study were exposed to the same PPM of CO for one hour prior to injury and then returned to room air for the subsequent two weeks. Control rats not exposed to CO began to show arteriosclerotic lesions after 20-30 days, which were significant by 50-60 days. In the rats exposed to CO, intimal hyperplasia was reduced by 61%. Similarly, in rats in the balloon injury portion exposed to CO, hyperplasia was reduced by 74%.

"Our research suggests that the protective effect of CO relies on its ability to block leukocyte infiltration/activation as well as small muscle cell proliferation,” said study author Leo Otterbein, Ph.D., research assistant professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (PA, USA; www.dean-med.pitt.edu). "CO may prove to be beneficial in the treatment of a broad range of vascular diseases.”





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