'Chemical cleaner' offers hangover hope

Published on Saturday 3 January 2009 19:21

FROM an instant hangover cure to an antidote to accidental drugs overdoses. Scottish scientists have invented a "chemical cleaner" that could save the lives of thousands of people every year.

A team of researchers has invented a new kind of molecule that can attach itself to unwanted chemicals in the bloodstream and clear out the invader within minutes.

The molecule, Bridion, created by a team from Schering Plough in Newhouse, Lanarkshire, has been used in trials with patients who have undergone anaesthesia and can remove a paralysing drug used in major surgery. But the team are also "excited" about a wider range of possibilities.

Current treatments for drug and alcohol overdoses, accidental poisonings and insect bites are varied and complex. Some drugs overdoses, such as paracetamol, are very difficult to reverse.

The new molecule forms a ring around the unwanted chemical, rendering it ineffective within three minutes, the time it takes the blood to circulate round the body. It is then excreted naturally.

Possible future treatments could include:

&#149 Removing alcohol from the bloodstream quickly from people who have drunk too much, a potential treatment in 7,632 cases a year of acute alcohol intoxication seen in Scottish hospitals and even going some way to cut down the annual toll of around 2,372 alcohol-related deaths.

&#149 A fast-acting treatment for drugs overdoses, targeting drugs as they circulate in the bloodstream, another potential lifesaver. Last year in Scotland there were 455 drug-related deaths.

&#149 Targeting paracetamol in the bloodstream, another common drug which is often overdosed, by adults and children, removing the drug before it can cause liver damage.

&#149 An antidote for poisons and toxins, such as snakebites and spider and insect bites, which can cause death and major illness. The drug could provide another tool for doctors treating cases of accidental poisoning by removing a toxin before it damaged the body.

Yesterday Dr David Hill, head of pharmacology at Schering Plough

explained that the system, dubbed "host-guest interaction" was highly effective and was now the subject of huge excitement within the scientific community.

He said: "We have proven the concept that you can have these artificial receptors that bind specific agents. You can imagine creating very specific molecules to interact with things."

Hill added that alcohol and other toxins and poisons could be future targets for researchers. "I know there are people trying to make artificial receptors and the principle could be applied," he said. "Having shown you can get these very specific host-guest interactions it is not inconceivable this will be something for the future."

"We have looked for things like whether it can reverse paracetamol poisoning. Although Bridion itself can't, because this molecule is very specific for the muscle relaxants, there are chemists looking at this host-guest interaction and it's not inconceivable that chemistry could be directed to make very specific agents.

"The side-effects (of Bridion] are virtually nil, you just have this fantastic reversal of the paralysis.

"The potential now is that the anaesthetist has much greater control over the degree of muscle paralysis. When something like this comes along they are quite excited."

Bridion works specifically on the commonly used muscle relaxants, Rocuronium and Vecuronium, used to keep patients extremely still during major surgery such as hip operations. They render the patient paralysed so surgeons can perform delicate procedures. They also allow intubation of a patient to allow mechanical ventilation.