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The Medical Benefits of Carbon Monoxide

Posted by Soulskill on from the my-garage-is-my-laboratory dept.

tugfoigel writes with this excerpt from the Boston Globe: "For more than a century, carbon monoxide has been known as a deadly toxin. In an 1839 story, Edgar Allan Poe wrote of 'miraculous lustre of the eye' and 'nervous agitation' in what some believe are descriptions of carbon monoxide poisoning, and today, cigarette cartons warn of its health dangers. But a growing body of research, much of it by local scientists, is revealing a paradox: the gas often called a silent killer could also be a medical treatment. It seems like a radical contradiction, but animal studies show that in small, extremely controlled doses the gas has benefits in everything from infections to organ transplantation."

14 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Gee whiz! by mcsnee · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Something that is bad for us in high doses may be beneficial in low doses?! Next they'll be telling us that exposure to radiation and toxins can help cure cancer, or that the same stuff that rusts away unprotected steel and iron is actually necessary for animal life!

    1. Re:Gee whiz! by xTantrum · · Score: 5, Insightful
      seriously people this isn't that "paradoxical". Chem 101. As (arsenic) is also deadly but its also an essential biological trace element. Its about moderation.

      Sometimes i can't believe i still surf this place.

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    2. Re:Gee whiz! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can't believe you still use the word 'surf'.

    3. Re:Gee whiz! by Thinboy00 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, Homeopathy often dilutes the "dose" until it is improbable that there is a single molecule of the original substance remaining

      --
      $ make available
    4. Re:Gee whiz! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      As (arsenic) is also deadly but its also an essential biological trace element. Its about moderation.

      That may be true, but there are clearly some very dangerous chemicals like nitroglycerin that couldn't possibly have any medical uses.

    5. Re:Gee whiz! by jbengt · · Score: 5, Funny

      Homeopathy is wrong for two reasons--one, it postulates that chemicals/herbs/medicines that cause a symptom will cure that symptom, . . .

      Well, the same ethanol that caused my morning headache seems to have cured it.

    6. Re:Gee whiz! by The+Archon+V2.0 · · Score: 4, Funny

      (Not an industry shill, just a pragmatist posting anonymously to avoid harassment from anti-DHMO zealots).

      You'd better post anonymously. Crazies like you just love it when people can get DHMO without any sort of oversight. You want them to think they can't live without it! It's bloody dangerous! That crap gets in your lungs and you DIE!

    7. Re:Gee whiz! by Gabrill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because multicellular organisms like homo sapiens can survive a poison that virii or bacteria cannot. Hasn't that been the basis of a great deal of medicine for over a century now?

      --
      Always going forward, 'cause we can't find reverse.
  2. not a paradox by fermion · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Almost anything is lethal in large doses, and many things are fatal in even small doses. Those same things are often of some benefit in very small doses. For instance, Botulinum toxin. We use small and weakened versions of virus to immunize ourselves. Most medicines can kill children who ingest a moderate overdose. A little alcohol can be antiseptic, which is why many places in the world used to drink with their food, but too much alcohol is lethal.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  3. Re:I've seen this story before! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    NO is nitric oxide, not carbon monoxide.

  4. All things are poison... by notdotcom.com · · Score: 5, Informative

    Paracelsus, sometimes called the father of toxicology, wrote:

            German: Alle Ding' sind Gift, und nichts ohn' Gift; allein die Dosis macht, daß ein Ding kein Gift ist.
            "All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous."

    That is to say, substances often considered toxic can be benign or beneficial in small doses, and conversely an ordinarily benign substance can be deadly if over-consumed. Even water can be deadly if overconsumed.

    (Ripped right from Wikipedia [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus ] )

    So, 500 years ago, this would have been news?

    --
    Grandpa: My Homer is not a communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a communist, but he is not a porn star.
  5. Re:Digitalis, eh? by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 5, Funny

    Take iron, for instance. It's an essential trace mineral but drop an anvil on your foot and you're in a world of hurt...

    --
    This ain't rocket surgery.
  6. Most all posions by nurb432 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Have their medicinal values. Most medicines become poisonous at a certain level too, so there is some symmetry to it all.

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    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  7. Re:Cigarettes by treat · · Score: 4, Informative

    Maybe not cigarettes, but tobacco sure. Heroin also has huge medical benefits, but we can't touch that, can we?

    In much of the world, heroin is recognized as being a safe and effective pain killer. It is used regularly in hospitals in the UK.

    The reason heroin is an effective recreational drug is due to its safety compared to other opiates.

    The situation is similar (although much more extreme) with methamphetamine. Enough caffeine to keep you awake for a week would have a high chance of killing you outright.

    Considering the low cost of making heroin from morphine, the use of morphine instead is essentially a deliberate waste in order to satisfy political considerations.