Nitric oxide may benefit damaged hearts.A sudden cutoff of oxygen can kill heart tissue and cause a heart attack. Even when blood flow is restored, however, yet another round of damage can occur, this time due to cell-killing swelling and inflammation. In a new study of mice, breathing low concentrations of nitric oxide for 24 hours Adv. 1. for 24 hours - without stopping; "she worked around the clock" around the clock, round the clock after a heart attack decreased the amount of heart-tissue death and scarring by 29 percent. The treatment also reduced the number and activity of inflammatory white blood cells White blood cells A group of several cell types that occur in the bloodstream and are essential for a properly functioning immune system. Mentioned in: Abscess Incision & Drainage, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Complement Deficiencies infiltrating the animals' heart muscle, report Kyung-Han Lee and Anthony Rosenzweig of Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital Health care The major teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School, widely regarded as one of the best health care centers in the world in Boston. They have yet to ascertain whether the nitric oxide treatment actually improved heart function. Nitric oxide has another advantage. It's known to dilate dilate /di·late/ (di´lat) to stretch an opening or hollow structure beyond its normal dimensions. di·late v. To make or become wider or larger. blood vessels, allowing more blood to flow through them. When inhaled, however, the gas doesn't reduce overall blood pressure. This is encouraging because heart attack patients often suffer from abnormally low blood pressure, says Rosenzweig. "This study suggests that a very nontoxic therapy can positively modulate the degree of heart injury after a heart attack," says Mark T. Gladwin of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. Goodwin is investigating nitric oxide's potential for treating sickle cell anemia sickle cell anemia n. A chronic, usually fatal inherited form of anemia marked by crescent-shaped red blood cells, occurring almost exclusively in Blacks, and characterized by fever, leg ulcers, jaundice, and episodic pain in the joints. (SN: 1/29/00, p. 78). |
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