Carbon monoxide is widely feared for its odorless, colorless and potentially fatal features. But research has shown it also can be an effective therapy for inflammatory diseases — if only physicians could administer it safely and consistently.
That’s where new culinary-inspired research co-led by University of Iowa scientists comes in.
The study published June 29 in Science Translational Medicine found, for example, that by infusing carbon monoxide into consumable foams — like those chefs use on cooking shows to add flavor and sophisticate their plates — doctors could have a safe way to get a therapeutic form of the feared gas into a patients’ gastrointestinal tract.
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“Within that study, we also have looked at other things outside of foams,” UI assistant professor of radiation oncology and biomedical engineering James Byrne, a lead author on the study, told The Gazette.
Just like molecular gastronomy lets chefs alter the physical composition of foods, researchers used the same techniques to incorporate carbon monoxide into not only foam but “solid gems” — like the candy “Pop Rocks” — or gummy bears.
“These are all made out of what you could find at some of the major culinary arts centers,” said Byrne, who in August launched the UI “Byrne Lab” aimed at “developing transformative technologies to improve patient care.”
Some of the experimental carbon monoxide edibles are sugar-based — so would taste like candy. “But we haven’t tested this in patients at all yet,” he said. “This is all in animals, rather than humans.”
The recently published study potentially unlocking this new therapy involved scientists from the UI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Using mice, rats and pigs, the team found carbon monoxide-containing materials helped with three inflammatory conditions, without dangerous side effects.
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The foam, delivered rectally, reduced inflammation of the colon in inflammatory bowel disease. It also reduced inflammation of the rectum caused by radiation treatment. And it proved beneficial by reversing acute liver failure caused by acetaminophen overdose.
“I treat a lot of cancer patients, and one of the things that we commonly see are these radiation-induced side effects, and a lot of them involve the GI tract,” Byrne said. “It's estimated that over 200,000 patients in the U.S. being treated with radiation will experience some degree of these radiation induced mucositis or GI toxicities.
“Inflammatory Bowel Disease is also extraordinarily common,” he said. “We're talking hundreds of thousands of individuals in the U.S. that have this and are managing these diseases … and so the opportunity to try and go after these outcome using this alternative therapeutic is huge.”
The foam also can be consumed through a straw or in a slushy. Researchers created it using technology they developed resembling a whipping siphon — commonly used in the kitchen.
As for potential side effects, Byrne said, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has capped carbon monoxide levels to ensure the therapy is safe. “But, in general, we didn't notice any undue side effects in the animals that we treated,” he said.
Regarding when the treatment might begin being tested in humans and become available, Byrne said, an estimate is hard to nail down.
“The goal really is now to try and get things started up as a company to be able to get this into patients,” he said. “That's really the best way of moving things forward in a very expeditious fashion.”
www.thegazette.com
That’s where new culinary-inspired research co-led by University of Iowa scientists comes in.
The study published June 29 in Science Translational Medicine found, for example, that by infusing carbon monoxide into consumable foams — like those chefs use on cooking shows to add flavor and sophisticate their plates — doctors could have a safe way to get a therapeutic form of the feared gas into a patients’ gastrointestinal tract.
Advertisement
“Within that study, we also have looked at other things outside of foams,” UI assistant professor of radiation oncology and biomedical engineering James Byrne, a lead author on the study, told The Gazette.
Just like molecular gastronomy lets chefs alter the physical composition of foods, researchers used the same techniques to incorporate carbon monoxide into not only foam but “solid gems” — like the candy “Pop Rocks” — or gummy bears.
“These are all made out of what you could find at some of the major culinary arts centers,” said Byrne, who in August launched the UI “Byrne Lab” aimed at “developing transformative technologies to improve patient care.”
Some of the experimental carbon monoxide edibles are sugar-based — so would taste like candy. “But we haven’t tested this in patients at all yet,” he said. “This is all in animals, rather than humans.”
The recently published study potentially unlocking this new therapy involved scientists from the UI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Using mice, rats and pigs, the team found carbon monoxide-containing materials helped with three inflammatory conditions, without dangerous side effects.
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The foam, delivered rectally, reduced inflammation of the colon in inflammatory bowel disease. It also reduced inflammation of the rectum caused by radiation treatment. And it proved beneficial by reversing acute liver failure caused by acetaminophen overdose.
“I treat a lot of cancer patients, and one of the things that we commonly see are these radiation-induced side effects, and a lot of them involve the GI tract,” Byrne said. “It's estimated that over 200,000 patients in the U.S. being treated with radiation will experience some degree of these radiation induced mucositis or GI toxicities.
“Inflammatory Bowel Disease is also extraordinarily common,” he said. “We're talking hundreds of thousands of individuals in the U.S. that have this and are managing these diseases … and so the opportunity to try and go after these outcome using this alternative therapeutic is huge.”
The foam also can be consumed through a straw or in a slushy. Researchers created it using technology they developed resembling a whipping siphon — commonly used in the kitchen.
As for potential side effects, Byrne said, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has capped carbon monoxide levels to ensure the therapy is safe. “But, in general, we didn't notice any undue side effects in the animals that we treated,” he said.
Regarding when the treatment might begin being tested in humans and become available, Byrne said, an estimate is hard to nail down.
“The goal really is now to try and get things started up as a company to be able to get this into patients,” he said. “That's really the best way of moving things forward in a very expeditious fashion.”
UI scientists tap culinary techniques, carbon monoxide for new therapy
The study published June 29 in Science Translational Medicine found, for example, that by infusing carbon monoxide into consumable foams — like those chefs use on cooking shows to add flavor and sophisticate their plates — doctors could have a safe way to get a therapeutic form of the feared gas...
www.thegazette.com
