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Swamp Gas Prevents Complications In Diabetics
Fri, 05 Aug 2011
Researchers in the US have revealed that hydrogen sulphide, a toxic foul-smelling gas sometimes referred to as ‘swamp gas’, may be able to protect blood vessels from the complications of diabetes.

Experts at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston exposed endothelial cells (cells from the innermost layer of blood vessels) of rats to sugar at a concentration that mimicked the level found in the arteries of a human diabetic .

Once they were exposed to such high sugar levels, the cells started to produce increasing amounts of highly reactive toxic free radicals, and as a result, they began to die.

Lead researcher Dr. Csaba Szabo explained that "low hydrogen sulfide levels accelerated this process, while constant replacement of hydrogen sulfide protected the cells against the toxic effects of high sugar ".

Dr Szabo and colleagues showed that diabetic rats have lower levels of hydrogen sulfide in their circulatory systems than other animals. They also found that treating diabetic rats for a month with hydrogen sulfide improved the function of their blood vessels.

"The loss of endothelial cell function in diabetes is a first step that leads to many complications, such as eye disease, heart disease, kidney disease, foot problems and others," Szabo added.

"The observation that hydrogen sulfide can control an early checkpoint in all of these processes may open the door for new therapies."
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