Nanosilver Stops Activation of Nasal Polyp Epithelial Cells
Here’s some potentially good news for people suffering from nasal polyps – a relatively new clinical study published in the journal International Immunopharmacology in November 2011, demonstrated that nanosilver has significant anti-inflammatory affects on “respiratory epithelial cell inflammation,” meaning it stops the cells of nasal polyps from becoming inflamed.
This, of course, was a test tube study and not a real-life study. According to the Abstract of the study, “The aim of this study was to investigate the potential clinical efficacy of nano-silver for its anti-inflammatory effect on respiratory epithelial cell inflammation.” In other words, the researchers wanted to know if nano-silver could stop the inflammation that characterizes nasal polyp cells. The researchers concluded “…cell survival was found to be significantly decreased at nano-silver concentrations exceeding 10 ppm.” In other words, the abnormal cells that make up the nasal polyps started dying upon exposure to 10 ppm nanosilver.
According to the researchers, “…at safe concentrations nanosilver can inhibit the activation of NPECs [i.e., nasal polyp epithelial cells – ED]. This finding suggests a novel pharmacological rationale for the treatment of airway inflammation and/or immunological disease.” In short, based on this strictly preliminary clinical study, it appears that antimicrobial silver (perhaps used as a nasal wash) might be helpful in terms of at least inhibiting the inflammation that characterizes nasal polyp cells. It might even help kill the cells that make up the polyps.
