Can rare earths help treat the respiratory disease?
Around 260 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, and so far, there is no permanent cure for the disease. Scientists at King’s College London are now reporting a possible advance that could pave the way for new treatment methods. According to the study published in the journal Science, a new understanding of the development of the disease has been gained through experiments on mice. Until now, the treatment of asthma has been based on the assumption that it is an inflammatory disease, but the characteristics of asthma attacks are because cells in the airways die. This, in turn, triggers new attacks.
This process could possibly be stopped by administering the rare earth element gadolinium, which was able to prevent damage to the airways in the experiments. However, how exactly gadolinium can be used in human medicine still needs to be researched. The investigated mechanisms could also help in researching the causes of diseases associated with constrictions, such as in the intestinal area, it is said. Gadolinium is already used in medical imaging procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging.
Photo: @atlasstudio via Canva
