Oxygenating agents for enhancing host responses to microbial infections

Abstract

Oxygenating agents are used in the present invention for the novel purpose of treating microbial infections. The invention takes advantage of the fact that the increase in tissue pO2 produced thereby can enhance the efficacy of the body's own antimicrobial defenses (including tissue repair), while also improving the efficacy of adjunctive agents that may be co-administered, such as antimicrobial agents, antioxidants, cytokine modulators, endotoxin antagonists and growth factors. The oxygenating agents of the present invention achieve the desired increased pO2 in the tissues without having to resort to the risks and expenses of hyper-baric oxygen therapy (HBO). The oxygenating agents can be administered systemically, regionally, or topically.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.