Sure. I'm on a mailing list for notices of upcoming conferences in the molecular biology/pharmaceutical/biotech industry; per an outfit called: IBC USA Conferences,Inc; 225 Turnpike Road; Southborough, MA 01772-1749; (508)481-6400. They sponsor various meetings around the country for the scientific/medical community; print up all the abstracts that will be presented etc. I use it to keep up with things in general and also for investing purposes; can then get on medline or something and get the full scoop once things are published and all.. Anyway, I was referring to a conference held November 21-22,1996 at the Sheraton in San Diego....all on blood substitutes; lots of info; too much to reproduce online, but an abstract caught my eye; one from Colorodo State University; Ruth Billings, PhD "Toxicity of Cross-Linked Hemoglobin Solutions-Oxidative Effects and Cytokine Release. "Administration of hemoglobin blood substitutes(diaspirin cross-linked hemoglobin solutions(aa-HbS) may provoke prooxidative and proinflammatory reactions."
Also: Interactions of Hemoglobin-Based Blood Substitutes with Endothelial Cells after Ischemia and Reperfusion(what you were aware of?) by Abdu I. Alayash, PhD; US Food and Drug Administration(Oh no, the government!)....."Chemically and genetically modified hemoglobins have been developed as oxygen carrying blood substitutes. The propensity of hemoglobin-based substitutes to contribute to tissue-damaging free radical production has been implicated in the toxicity of some of these preparations. One potential mechanism of toxicity involves metabolites which are formed upon reperfusion of ischemic tissues. Data on the development of a model of cytotoxicity in which the interactions of various hemoglobin preparations with endothelial cells subjected to ischemia and reperfusion will be presented as well as the role of hemoglobin in the potentiation of oxidative endothelial cell injury."
Also: The Effect of Hemoglobin in Neurons in Culture by S. Scott Panter, PhD;Dept of Neurosurgery, Univ Calif, San Francisco
"The effects of hemoglobin were evaluated in mixed cultures of neurons and astrocytes. HemoglobinA was toxic in a dose-dependent fashion. This effect was inhibited by: Trolox C, a water soluble analog of alpha tocopherol; deferoxamine, a high affinity iron chelator, U74500A, a 21-amonostroid and potent anti oxidant and human haptoglobin. HgA-mediated toxicity was also blocked by the dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers nifedipine and nimodipine. Astrocytes were unaffected by HgA."
I thought this was interesting and informative; something to keep in mind while investing $ in this sort of thing. I'm still all for it though.
Rich |
