A simple gas could radically change the prospects for recovery in people in cardiac arrest: a gas that would be able to preserve the brains of patients as much as possible, greatly limiting neurological damage and significantly improving the recovery of cognitive functions. A special study is underway at the Policlinico di Milano to demonstrate all this, and the first patient in the world has just been treated with Argon gas. It is a man of about 60 years, who after a week of hospitalization has already returned home in perfect condition: statistics, on the other hand, say that in Italy only 8% of patients survive a cardiac arrest without serious neurological outcomes. or without disabilities.
Ten years of research
The idea of using Argon to treat patients in cardiac arrest has been the subject of scientific studies since 2012 and was born thanks to Giuseppe Ristagno, anesthetist of the Department of Anesthesia-Intensive Care and Emergency Urgency directed by Antonio Pesenti, who has also been collaborating for some time with the Mario Negri Institute. Ristagno developed the first insights into the Argon together with Silvio Garattini and Roberto Latini of Mario Negri and started animal experiments, in which several very promising results have already been demonstrated. Now, after 10 years of scientific research, it has finally been possible to start experimentation on humans: and the first data already seem to confirm the validity of the idea.
Argon reverses the unfavorable percentages
“After a cardiac arrest – explains Giuseppe Ristagno, who is also associate professor of Anesthesia at the State University of Milan – a serious lack of oxygen is generated which among other things endangers our neurons, immediately sending them into suffering. Studies on animal models we have seen that mortality after cardiac arrest stood at 70%; treating the subjects with Argon gas, on the other hand, the percentages were reversed: 70% of the animals survived and with a complete neurological recovery. it is extraordinarily important to have started the experimentation of Argon on humans: if confirmed, this new technique has the potential to revolutionize the treatment and outcomes of cardiac arrest “.
Argon acts on the energy control units: the mitochondria
The name of Argon derives from the Greek word ‘argos’ which means lazy: in fact it is an inert gas, that is, it is extremely stable and reacts unwillingly with other chemical elements. It makes up almost 1% of our atmosphere: it is therefore very abundant in nature and extremely cheap to use. But if it’s so inert, how does it protect the neurons? “It has been discovered – continues Ristagno – that this gas actually has a direct action on the membranes of the mitochondria, which are the ‘energy centers’ of all our cells. When there is a shortage of oxygen, the mitochondria in neurons are the first to go into suffering, subsequently leading to the death of the cells that contain them. Argon, on the contrary, seems to make the mitochondria more resistant to temporary oxygen deficiencies: in practice it protects neurons and makes them gain precious time, so that they can overcome the consequences of cardiac arrest as unscathed as possible “.
In the next few months, 50 patients
The study just started at the Policlinico di Milano is Phase I-II: the phases for the authorization of a new therapy are 4, and normally all together take several years. For the next few months, experts will use this gas on 50 well-selected patients, to demonstrate the feasibility of this innovative treatment as well as to investigate its effectiveness. “The idea is to continue the study also in collaboration with other structures, to accelerate the recruitment of patients and verify the effectiveness of this therapy: we expect an improvement in neurological recovery of up to 40% in humans, compared to untreated patients. “.
Research at the sick bed
“Our job is to bring basic research to the sick bed – he concludes Ezio Belleri, general manager of the Policlinico di Milano – and this study shows it really well. The impact of cardiac arrest on the patient, on his family and on the health and social system is enormous: not only for the costs associated with long hospitalization, the consequent disabilities and long-term therapies. But also because the whole family is overwhelmed in his daily life, with a considerable cost also from a psychological point of view. In Italy every year there are 60,000 cardiac arrests: for this reason, being able to protect the brain as much as possible from such serious damage can radically change the prospects for treatment for an unfortunately still very common event “.