OxyFile #99

TI:  Removal of Cholesterol and Other Lipids from Experimental 
     Animal and Human Atheromatous Arteries by Dilute Hydrogen 
     Peroxide.

DT:  June 23, 1982

AU:  J.W. Finney, B.E. Jay, G.J. Race, H.C. Urschel,
     J.T. Mallams, G.A. Balla

SO:  Angiology 1966, Vol. 17, pp 223-228

AB:  During the past decade, the volume and scope of experimental 
     and clinical applications of oxygen at high pressure have 
     increased at a rapid rate.  An attempt has been made in this 
     laboratory to obviate a number of problems inherent in the 
     systemic administration of oxygen at high pressure by 
     employing a regional system.  In this system, hydrogen 
     peroxide is used as a source of oxygen and the intra-
     arterial route as the means of administration.  From these 
     studies the following points have been made: hydrogen 
     peroxide is broken down very rapidly when introduced into 
     the blood stream in both rabbits and humans; in dilute 
     solutions, intravascular hydrogen peroxide has no 
     unacceptable deleterious effect on formed blood elements 
     (with the exception of dogs, where, due to an apparent 
     deficiency in RBC and plasma catalase, methemoglobin is 
     produced); and the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide by 
     biological fluids results in the supersaturation of these 
     fluids with oxygen.  The magnitude of the supersaturation is 
     equivalent to several atmospheres of oxygen.

     Kann, Mengel, and others have shown that the formation of 
     lipid peroxides is on sequela to exposure to oxygen at high 
     pressure.  The authors have noted a reduction in the 
     subintimal lipid deposits and atheromatous plaques in the 
     arteries of individuals being infused intra-arterially with 
     hydrogen peroxide.

     This is a preliminary report on an extension of this finding 
     approached in three different procedures:

     1.  Chemical and histologic evaluation of aortas taken at 
         postmortem from patients who had been treated with 
         intra-arterial hydrogen peroxide as an adjunct to 
         external irradiation in the management of their 
         malignant disease.
     2.  In vitro studies of human aortas incubated with hydrogen 
         peroxide.
     3.  In vivo studies of the total scrum lipids in animals and 
         humans before and immediately following the intra-
         arterial infusion of hydrogen peroxide.