Have a stuffy nose? Not to worry. You’ll have a different way to breathe through soon.
your privates. You got that right.
According to VICE World News, a group of researchers in Japan have discovered that pigs can absorb oxygen through the anus in tests looking into treatments for people with respiratory disorders.
When oxygen and oxygenated fluids are injected via the animals’ buttholes into their stomachs, the scientists found that the creatures could survive without breathing through their lungs.
Takanori Takebe, a doctor at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University and one of the study’s authors, told VICE World News, “It’s really impressive because we never thought of breathing through the gut, but it’s conceivable.”
The study on mice and how rodents and pigs share with some aquatic organisms the capacity to use their intestines for respiration was published by Takebe and his colleagues from Nagoya University Graduate School and Kyodo University’s Department of Respiratory Surgery last year.
In August, they will submit their pig research to a U.S. medical publication.
However, given that pigs are more similar to humans in terms of physiology and genetic makeup, research suggests that it may also be achieved with people.
unexpectedly important research
The researchers studied loaches, a freshwater fish that breathes through its intestines. Loaches have an unusual way of breathing. They discovered that the gut tissues of the loaches underwent structural changes to facilitate breathing when there isn’t enough oxygen present at the tissue level.
The results were reported in the journal Med last year. Takebe investigated mice to see if mammals would similarly breathe through their anus under oxygen-deprived settings.
MOST COMMON
Takebe stated, “I’m always pretty dubious about the outcomes, yet it turns out we can get reproducible datasets every time we conduct the experiments.
According to Takebe’s research, mice who received the medication lived longer than those who did not. The trials demonstrated that mammals, when administered oxygenated gas or liquid through their rectums, could survive longer in low-oxygen conditions.
The same cannot be said for mammals like loaches and catfish, which have not evolved with this trait.
Now, why is this research important?
It might provide individuals with respiratory failure treatment choices.
When a patient requires oxygen, medical ventilation is chosen. Air is forced through the windpipe during the procedure using a machine.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a different method that involves pumping blood outside the body and reoxygenating it mechanically. But there is a chance of bleeding and blood clots.
At that moment, Takebe thought of the unlikely but necessary course of action.
Reliable animal models are not required.
His scientists also removed obstacles that would have prevented the gut from absorbing oxygen in a previous experiment. The mucosa, or innermost layer of the digestive tract, of the mice, was scraped before the gaseous oxygen was introduced into the creatures.
If anything, the rats were able to live longer as a result of this. There was no trace of cardiac arrest in these mice after they ceased gasping for oxygen.
Due to the possibility that patients would feel discomfort after mucosal excision, the researchers also tested providing oxygen as a liquid.
They introduced oxygen to perfluorodecalin, a substance that has a high oxygen solubility. Oxygen levels increased after injecting liquid into the mice’s rectums. The same is true for tests on rats and pigs.
The study’s non-affiliated gastroenterology fellow at Yale University, Caleb Kelly, called the researchers’ novel approach “promising.”
Kelly clarified, however, that respiratory collapse in severely ill individuals might not be effectively shown by animal models.
To demonstrate its practical efficacy, Takebe intends to begin human clinical studies at the beginning of the year. following verification of the method’s safety.
To test his theories, the scientist will enlist people with respiratory ailments.
Well, having options is always a good thing.