Comments(1)

Newer antioxidants should include the old antioxidant: sodium thiosulfate

Melvin Hayden   (27 June 2005)  Department of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Research University of Missouri School of Medicine

First, congratulations on an excellent article in this exciting area of research.

Sodium thiosulfate is emerging as a treatment for calciphylaxis. It is capable of donating its two unpaired electrons, is a scavenger of reactive oxygen - nitrogen species, and may generate glutathione. Additionally, it is an excellent chelator of calcium, which is a problem in diabetes resulting in medial vascular ossification – calcification.

The peripheral arteriolopathy associated with diabetes and skin ulcerations are all too frequently recalcitrant to standard therapy and result in untold complications with eventual limb loss. It is entirely possible that therapy with sodium thiosulfate could promote healing of these ulcers and prevent limb loss by accelerating healing of these peripheral diabetic ulcers just as it has been so helpful in the recent months in promoting healing of the skin ulcerations associated with calciphylaxis.

Leitago DJ, Blakley BW: Quantification of sodium thiosulphate protection of cicplatin-induced toxicities. J Otolaryngol. 2004; 32(3): 146-150

Cicone JS, Petronis JB, Embert CD, Spector DA: Successful treatment of calciphylaxis with intravenous sodium thiosulfate. Am J Kidney Dis. 2004; 43(6): 1104-1108

Giselle Guerra, Ronak C. Shah, and Edward A. Ross: Rapid resolution of calciphylaxis with intravenous sodium thiosulfate and continuous venovenous haemofiltration using low calcium replacement fluid: case report. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 2005; 20(6): 1260 - 1262

Karageuzyan KG: Oxidative stress in the molecular mechanism of pathogenesis at different diseased states of organism in clinics and experiment. Curr Drug Targets Inflamm Allergy 2005; 4(1): 85-98

Competing interests

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