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12 May 2008
People who suffer from high blood pressure could benefit from a new drug developed to boost the body's production of the odorous gas hydrogen sulphide, scientists claim.
Researchers at King's College London and Peninsula Medical School in Exeter have created a drug which has been found to boost hydrogen sulphide levels in the body, opening up the arteries to reduce blood pressure.
Hydrogen sulphide is the gas responsible for giving stink bombs their pungency, associated with the smell of rotten eggs and is produced by the body in small amounts.
According to professor Philip Moore, the drug "opened up an entirely new therapeutic approach for the treatment of hypertension".
Published in the journal Circulation, the report called for further study so that the findings can lead to a new treatment for high blood pressure or hypertension, which can be potentially fatal.
Professor Moore commented: "Hydrogen sulphide is one of the molecules that was around when the Earth was being made. Now we are finding roles for it in the body which we never thought would happen."
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