Showing posts with label H2S. Show all posts
Showing posts with label H2S. Show all posts

Friday, June 5, 2009

Antiinflammatory activity of H2S gas !

Its something interesting, we knew that a gas which everybody hates and even lethal has been found to possess antiinflammatory activity by Dr. Matt Whiteman from the Peninsula Medical School. The research team investigated the role of H2S in endotoxic shock, which causes a fatal loss of blood pressure and extensive tissue inflammation.

They discovered that when H2S is delivered in a slow and sustained manner, a potent anti-inflammatory effect is produced. Cell signalling molecules that drive inflammation, such as TNFα, IL-1, IL-6 and prostaglandins, were reduced while levels of the body's own anti-inflammatory molecules (i.e. IL-10) were increased. We know the side effects of NSAIds and even the so called nonulcerogenic NSAIds have side effects (except for those with selectice inhibitors of 5-LO and CO), most of them have side effects. Hope the outcome of this research will lead to compounds which can overcome the side effects. Thus generating H2S in a controlled and sustained manner offers the potential for the development of a new group of anti-inflammatory drugs or lead to the modification of existing drugs so they also release H2S and hopefully come with less gastrointestinal side-effects.

Hope, using H2S donating molecules to control H2S delivery in the body could pave the way for the development of novel approaches to the treatment of inflammatory disorders. Congrats Dr. Matt Whiteman and his group for this interesting finding...