The application and theoretical issues of rare earths in medicine have long been highly valued research projects worldwide. People have long discovered the pharmacological effects of rare earths. The earliest application in medicine was cerium salts, such as cerium oxalate, which can be used to treat marine dizziness and pregnancy vomiting and has been included in the pharmacopoeia; In addition, simple inorganic cerium salts can be used as wound disinfectants. Since the 1960s, it has been discovered that rare earth compounds have a series of special pharmacological effects and are excellent antagonists of Ca2+. They have analgesic effects and can be widely used in the treatment of burns, inflammation, skin diseases, thrombotic diseases, etc., which has attracted widespread attention.
1、 The Application of Rare Earths in Medicines
1. Anticoagulant effect
Rare earth compounds hold a special position in anticoagulation. They can reduce blood coagulation both inside and outside the body, especially for intravenous injection, and can immediately produce anticoagulant effects that last for about a day. One important advantage of rare earth compounds as anticoagulants is their rapid action, which is comparable to direct acting anticoagulants such as heparin and has long-term effects. Rare earth compounds have been widely studied and applied in anticoagulation, but their clinical application is limited due to the toxicity and accumulation of rare earth ions. Although rare earths belong to the low toxicity range and are much safer than many transition element compounds, further consideration still needs to be given to issues such as their elimination from the body. In recent years, there has been new development in the use of rare earths as anticoagulants. People combine rare earths with polymer materials to produce new materials with anticoagulant effects. Catheters and extracorporeal blood circulation devices made of such polymer materials can prevent blood coagulation.
2. Burn medication
The anti-inflammatory effect of rare earth cerium salts is the main factor in improving the treatment effect of burns. The use of cerium salt drugs can reduce wound inflammation, accelerate healing, and rare earth ions can inhibit the proliferation of cellular components in the blood and excessive fluid leakage from blood vessels, thereby promoting the growth of granulation tissue and the metabolism of epithelial tissue. Cerium nitrate can quickly control severely infected wounds and turn them negative, creating conditions for further treatment.
3. Anti inflammatory and bactericidal effects
There have been many research reports on the use of rare earth compounds as anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs. The use of rare earth drugs has satisfactory results for inflammation such as dermatitis, allergic dermatitis, gingivitis, rhinitis, and phlebitis. At present, most rare earth anti-inflammatory drugs are topical, but some scholars are exploring the use of them internally to treat collagen related diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, etc.) and allergic diseases (urticaria, eczema, lacquer poisoning, etc.), which is of greater significance for patients who are contraindicated by corticosteroid drugs. Many countries are currently conducting research on rare earth anti-inflammatory drugs, and people expect further breakthroughs.
4. Anti atherosclerotic effect
In recent years, it has been discovered that rare earth compounds have anti atherosclerotic effects and have attracted great attention. Coronary artery atherosclerosis is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries around the world, and the same trend has also emerged in major cities in China in recent years. Therefore, the etiology and prevention of atherosclerosis is one of the major topics of medical research today. Rare earth element lanthanum can prevent and improve aortic and coronary Congee.
5. Radionuclides and anti-tumor effects
The anticancer effect of rare earth elements has attracted people’s attention. The earliest use of rare earth for diagnosis and treatment of cancer was its radioactive isotopes. In 1965, rare earth radioactive isotopes were used to treat tumors related to the pituitary gland. Research by researchers on the anti-tumor mechanism of light rare earth elements has shown that in addition to clearing harmful free radicals in the body, rare earth elements can also reduce the level of calmodulin in cancer cells and increase the level of tumor suppressor genes. This indicates that the anti-tumor effect of rare earth elements may be achieved by reducing the malignancy of cancer cells, indicating that rare earth elements have an undeniable prospect in the prevention and treatment of tumors.
The Beijing Labor Protection Bureau and others conducted a retrospective cohort survey on the tumor epidemic among workers in the rare earth industry in Gansu for 17 years. The results showed that the standardized mortality rates (tumors) of rare earth plant population, living area population, and population in Gansu region were 23.89/105, 48.03/105, and 132.26/105, respectively, with a ratio of 0.287:0.515:1.00. The rare earth group is significantly lower than the local control group and Gansu Province, indicating that rare earth can inhibit the incidence trend of tumors in the population.
2、 Application of Rare Earth in Medical Devices
In terms of medical devices, laser knives made of rare earth containing laser materials can be used for fine surgery, optical fibers made of lanthanum glass can be used as optical conduits, which can clearly observe the condition of human stomach lesions. Rare earth element ytterbium can be used as a brain scanning agent for brain scanning and chamber imaging; The new type of X-ray intensifying screen made of rare earth fluorescent materials can improve the shooting efficiency by 5-8 times compared with the original Calcium tungstate intensifying screen, shorten the exposure time, reduce the radiation dose to the human body, and greatly improve the clarity of the shooting. Using the rare earth intensifying screen, many previously difficult to diagnose diseases can be diagnosed more accurately.
A magnetic resonance imaging device (MRI) made of rare earth permanent magnet materials is a new medical device applied in the 1980s. It uses a stable and uniform large magnetic field to give a pulse wave to the human body, causing hydrogen atoms to resonate and absorb energy. Then, when the magnetic field is suddenly turned off, the hydrogen atoms will release the absorbed energy. Due to the different distribution of hydrogen atoms in various tissues of the human body, the duration of energy release varies, By analyzing and processing the different information received by an electronic computer, images of internal organs in the human body can be restored and analyzed to distinguish between normal or abnormal organs, and to distinguish the nature of lesions. Compared with X-ray tomography, MRI has the advantages of safety, painless, non-invasive, and high contrast. The emergence of MRI is called a technological revolution in the history of diagnostic medicine by the medical community.
The most widely used method in medical treatment is the use of rare earth permanent magnet materials for magnetic acupoint therapy. Due to the high magnetic properties of rare earth permanent magnet materials, which can be made into various shapes of magnetic therapy tools and are not easily demagnetized, it can achieve better therapeutic effects than traditional magnetic therapy when applied to acupoints or diseased areas of the body’s meridians. Nowadays, rare earth permanent magnet materials are used to make magnetic therapy necklaces, magnetic needles, magnetic health earrings, fitness magnetic bracelets, magnetic water cups, magnetic patches, magnetic wooden combs, magnetic knee pads, magnetic shoulder pads, magnetic belts, magnetic massagers, and other magnetic therapy products, which have sedative, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, itching relieving, hypotensive, and antidiarrheal effects.
Post time: Apr-20-2023