Io9 reports on a medical breakthrough at Boston Children's Hospital that has far-ranging implications for treating myriad ailments, from allergic reactions to cerebral palsy. Cardiologists were able to stave off suffocation in rabbits by directly injecting oxygen into blood cells, keeping the animals alive for 15 minutes despite obstructed airways.
The rabbits showed no ill effects. Lead researcher, cardiologist John Kheir, told Nature that the rabbits showed no evidence of heart, lung or liver damage from oxygen deprivation.
Kheir hopes the procedure can be expanded to pump oxygen directly into the blood for 30 minutes, a feat that would offer hope for countless conditions. The procedure may be used to avoid cerebral palsy caused by a compromised fetal blood supply, or as part of a first-aid kit for scuba divers. It may be used for people with allergies to wasp and bee stings, guaranteeing they won't suffocate from an allergic reaction to bee venom.
In Alaska, wasp-sting fatalities are a threat for people with allergies. During the summer of 2006, troves of wasps descended on Fairbanks and two men died from allergic reactions to the stings.
Read more on the medical breakthrough from io9, here.
The entire study is available, here.