New trauma drug slows biological time to extend patient life: Aussie research

SYDNEY. KAZINFORM A new trauma drug under development in Australia could increase the survival time of people suffering from internal injuries by as much as three days, compared with 20 hours, said James Cook University (JCU) on Thursday.

Prof.Geoffrey Dobson from JCU's College of Medicine and Dentistry said the conceptis to reduce the patient's metabolism, leading to a slower energy consumptionand buying precious «biological time» for the patients, Xinhua reports.

«Biologicaltime is linked to the body's metabolic rate and lifespan,» Dobsonexplained.

«Smallanimals live life in the fast lane with metabolic rates equivalent to aformula-one racing car whereas larger mammals operate more like a tractor;humans are in between,» said Dobson.

«If wecan develop a drug that slows metabolism in different parts of the body, we canbuy precious time and increase survival of a patient after catastrophicinjury.»

In thelatest Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Dobson and his colleaguesdiscovered that their drug affects metabolism in the vital organs of the body,including the brain and heart. It improves oxygen delivery and couldpotentially extend patient life from three to seven days or even longer.

Theresearch was funded by the United States military and is intended to extend thelives of severely wounded soldiers in the field.

However itmay also find use in civilian life, including remote regions where immediatetreatment is hard to come by, such as agricultural accidents, shark attacks, orinternal complications associated with pregnancy.

Accordingto Dobson, the drug will commence human trials next year.