Helium - a colourless, odourless and
tasteless chemical element - could help treat
respiratory disorders,
say
researchers in Canada. Patients with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) have difficulty breathing out and often air is
trapped in the lungs at the end of each breath. This has been shown to
be one of the primary reasons for shortness of breath experienced by
these patients, reported health portal Medical News Today. Combining helium and hyperoxia (excess
oxygen in body tissues) slows down the frequency of breathing while
making the air easier to breathe. This combined effect reduces the
amount of air trapped in the lungs during exercise, researchers said. By combining helium with 40 percent oxygen
allowed patients with COPD to increase their exercise capacity by an
average of 245 percent, found Neil Eves and other researchers at the
University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. COPD is a disease of the lungs caused by smoking and includes the conditions of emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Helium is the least reactive of the nearly
inert noble gas elements. Its boiling and melting points are the lowest
among the elements. Except in extreme conditions, it exists only as a
gas. After hydrogen, helium is the second lightest
element and also the
second most abundant element in the universe. This was the first study to demonstrate
that helium-hyperoxia (40 percent oxygen, 60 percent helium) improves
the exercise tolerance of COPD patients to a greater extent than only
oxygen, which is currently used for treating patients with this
disorder. People with severe COPD typically struggle
for every breath while exercising and any improvements that could be
made to their ability to exercise could have significant clinical
implications. The results of the study were published recently in the American Journal of
Respiratory Critical Care Medicine.