Asthma and COPD treated with Carbon Monoxide ?

Who would have thought that the killer gas carbon monoxide might be used to treat Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD).

It turns out that carbon monoxide (CO) is produced naturally by the body in tiny quantities. The Swedish doctor Hulb Kerstjens tried giving 18 people a very low dose of carbon monoxide added to air for 4 consecutive days and found that inflammation had reduced by a third. Even more promising was that the lungs of the people involved also became more resistant to irritants in the air. Pollen, tiny particles from diesel fuel, molecules flying off furniture indoors and many other irritants set of an asthma reaction in many with this condition. Watch out later this year for news of a larger trial.

Breathing carbon monoxide (even in very low doses) needs to be made safer and more repeatable. Several companies are researching methods of delivering CO right to where it's needed on a molecule. The right molecule will unload exact quantities of CO right where needed. HemoCorm and Alfama are two such small bio research and development companies.

It's turning out that the application of CO could go much wider than asthma and COPD.

Ikaria of New Jersey (with R+D near Seattle, WA) is starting a clinical trial to find out if inhaled CO can help patients who have received kidney transplants.

It's possible that CO technology might find use in treating such diverse health issues as rheumatoid arthritis and acute liver failure.