Xenon Gas Safe In Surgery And Could Help Stop Nerve Damaging Illnesses, New Stud

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Xenon Gas Safe In Surgery And Could Help Stop Nerve Damaging

Illnesses, New Study Shows

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=38449

Scientists have successfully conducted the first clinical trial

giving xenon gas to patients undergoing coronary artery bypass

grafting in order to safeguard against postoperative brain damage

that can occur following this procedure.

Research published in Anesthesiology shows how the team safely gave

xenon to 12 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting while

on cardiopulmonary artery bypass, a step which could eventually lead

to new treatments for people suffering from illnesses that damage

nerve cells, such as strokes, and brain and spinal cord injuries.

Earlier preclinical work by the team showed that xenon was effective

as a neuroprotectant, stopping processes present during strokes or

brain and spinal cord injuries that would damage nerve cells. They

found that xenon was capable of blocking the effects of a particular

type of glutamate receptor, the same receptor implicated in the

pathway that leads to nerve cell death.

The discovery that xenon acted as a neuroprotectant came about when

Professor Nick s, a biophysicist from Imperial College London

was investigating possible molecular targets which could be

responsible for the action of different anaesthetics.

Professor Mervyn Maze, an anaesthetist from Imperial College London

who has collaborated with Prof s in the xenon research

programme, said: " We knew from our earlier studies that xenon was

effective in stopping damaged nerve cells from dying, but this study

is of tremendous importance as it shows that it is feasible to

administer xenon safely to a population of patients at risk for

developing brain damage. What we need now is a clinical trial to test

the efficacy of xenon in large numbers of patients.

" Xenon could provide a whole new way of treating nerve damaging

illnesses. Although we can stop people dying from these illnesses,

there is not much we can do to stop the nerve damage that ultimately

leads to devastating long-term disability.

Professor s added: " We hope xenon could be developed as a novel

treatment. It is naturally occurring, and more importantly, its known

lack of toxicity makes it an attractive candidate as a

neuroprotectant in humans.

" Ultimately, we hope xenon could become part of standard medical

treatment, with paramedics being able to administer it to stroke and

brain-injured victims to stop ongoing nerve cell death. "