Researchers are testing a new protein-based treatment that could dramatically speed up care for carbon monoxide poisoning, a condition responsible for up to 100,000 emergency room visits and 1,500 deaths annually in the US. Carbon monoxide, an invisible and scentless gas, deprives organs of oxygen by binding to hemoglobin in red blood cells, often leading to lasting neurological or organ damage even in survivors.
Standard treatment involves delivering high levels of oxygen to force carbon monoxide off of the hemoglobin, but this process can be slow. The new research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, instead spotlights a therapy called RcoM-HBD-CCC, which a release notes "acts like a sponge" for carbon monoxide molecules. In experiments, this engineered protein was injected into mice and quickly pulled carbon monoxide from the bloodstream, allowing the kidneys to remove it within minutes.
The therapy could be administered in ambulances or at emergency sites, according to Mark T. Gladwin, a study co-author from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, per Scientific American. Unlike earlier versions, this protein targets carbon monoxide without interfering with nitric oxide, a molecule crucial for healthy blood vessel function. Prior protein therapies had unwanted side effects, such as making arteries stiffer.
story continues below
Tests in mouse models and in human blood samples in the lab showed promising results. Lance Becker, an emergency medicine expert unaffiliated with the research, noted that the protein's selectivity for carbon monoxide is a positive step. He and others are awaiting further studies in larger animals and, eventually, human trials, which remain a few years away. "It's a very clever little molecule, if it pans out," Becker said.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
