Inhaling Helps Heal Liver Transplant Recipients

[Guest guest]

Inhaling Helps Heal Liver Transplant Recipients

ANN ARBOR, MI -- August 24, 2007 -- A new report from a team of

researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, and the

University of Alabama at Birmingham indicates that one of the main

complications of liver transplantation can be treated very simply by

allowing the transplant recipients to inhale nitric oxide (NO) during

the operation in which they received their new liver.

Ihalation of NO decreased the length of time the patients had to stay

in hospital and increased the rate at which the function of the

transplanted liver was restored, leading the authors to suggest that

inhalation of NO is a valuable pre-emptive approach to enhancing liver

function after transplantation.

The authors chose to investigate the potential benefits of NO

inhalation to liver transplant recipients because ischemia/reperfusion

damage, which is one of the main causes of liver dysfunction and

failure after transplantation, is associated with decreased NO

production by the liver.

The study, titled, " Inhaled NO accelerates restoration of liver

function in adults following orthotopic liver transplantation, " was

prospective, blinded, and placebo-controlled and clearly showed that

inhaling NO was beneficial to the transplant recipients.

Further analysis indicated that the beneficial effects of inhaled NO

were probably mediated through increased levels of nitrite in the

circulation.

Although these results are extremely promising, the authors caution

that further studies using a larger number of patients are needed

before a final conclusion about the benefits of inhaling NO can be

reached.

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Investigation