Although carbon monoxide carbon monoxide is a deadly poison, in small doses it can improve the functioning of the placenta and prevent fetal death or abnormal development, according to Medical Gas Research.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that poisons the heart and nervous system. It is formed during the combustion of coal and its compounds with an insufficient supply of oxygen – during fires, in furnaces, gas heaters, internal combustion engines. Thousands of people die every year from poisoning with this compound – carbon monoxide – and those who survive can suffer brain damage. Carbon monoxide toxicity is due to its ability to block hemoglobin, an oxygen-carrying protein.
Small amounts of this poisonous gas are produced in the human body. Small doses dilate blood vessels and inhibit inflammatory processes. For some time, specialists have tried to use these properties of carbon monoxide in organ transplantation. However, inhaling carbon monoxide is dangerous for both the patient and the medical staff – it is easy to overdose.
Hemowa-1 (HO-1) oxygenza is essential for the development of blood vessels in the placenta, where the mother’s blood supplies oxygen and nutrients that pass into the blood of the fetus. Too low levels of HO-1 can lead to limited development of the fetus, and even cause fetal death and miscarriage. Both miscarriage and pre-eclampsia that are dangerous for the baby and mother are associated with low levels of HO-1 in the placenta.
However, it turned out that carbon monoxide can mimic the effect of HO-1. Experts from the German University of Otto von Guericke studied the effects of carbon monoxide on the fetuses of mice with developmental disorders. Long-term exposure to carbon monoxide at 50 parts per million (PPM) reduced mortality from 30 percent. to zero – all mouse fetuses survived.
Professor Ana Claudia Zenclussen, who leads the study, explains that carbon monoxide inhaled by pregnant women was anti-inflammatory and prevented cell death (apoptosis). BAG-1, a molecule that prevents apoptosis, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which promotes the formation and repair of blood vessels, increased in the placenta.
Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a serious complication of pregnancy. Children who survive are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney disease in later life. Therefore, carbon monoxide therapy seems promising – if it is possible to develop a method of adequately safe administration of carbon monoxide in the right dose and for a sufficiently long time – too much carbon monoxide can damage the fetus, and too short exposure will not be effective.